Lansing man sentenced after sodomizing sleeping toddler

Kara Berg | Lansing State Journal

LANSING — A Lansing man will spend at least 15 years in prison after sodomizing a toddler and claiming he was doing a prostate exam on him.

Kevin Brown-Rios, 24, pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, in July to second-degree criminal sexual conduct causing injury to a 3-year-old and first-degree child abuse. Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Clinton Canady III sentenced Brown-Rios to 15 to 25 years in prison Wednesday. He received credit for 834 days already served.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christina Johnson read a victim impact statement written by the toddler's mother in court Wednesday.

"Kevin tried to ruin him and take his innocence," the mother wrote. "He waited and watched for an opportunity to attack."

Even two years after the sexual assault, her son wakes up at night with nightmares and attends counseling to help with the trauma, his mother said.

Although the past few years have been "terrible and unbelievable," she said she believes her son will move past the abuse and thrive in life. He will not let Brown-Rios control his life, she said.

"He is no longer a victim. He is a survivor," the mother wrote.

Brown-Rios was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and was physically abused by his step-father as a child, his attorney, Peter Samouris, said. In addition, he said former drug use and social isolation played a role in Brown-Rios' state of mind during the crime.

"This appears to be a one-time incident," Samouris said. "There's no doubt in my mind my client's mental illness and lack of care played a role in his muddled decision-making that day. He is not a sexual predator."

Although Brown-Rios initially denied touching the toddler, he later said he was giving the boy a prostate exam to see if he had cancer.

The assault took place on the Fourth of July 2016 at a barbecue in Lansing. The toddler was with his mother at her grandmother's house, his mother told police. They watched the fireworks show, then she put her son to bed.

Leaving her sleeping son with her grandmother, she ran to the store. She was gone for less than 10 minutes, according to court records.

When she got home, her son was crying. He had blood all over his backside, and Brown-Rios was next to him in bed, she told police.

The State Journal does not typically identify victims of sexual assault.

Brown-Rios was found competent to stand trial in October 2016, but filed notice a month later that he was going to use legal insanity as his defense. The Center for Forensic Psychiatry found him incompetent in April 2017 and he was committed to the Saline facility. The center declared him competent in September.

Brown-Rios will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Contact Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.

