Ex-Daytona Beach police officer's request to withdraw plea in child porn case denied

A former Daytona Beach Police officer tried to withdraw his plea to possession of child sexual assault material, saying that his defense attorney had told him he would be sentenced to no more than five years.

But instead of five, Brandon Michael Fox, 24, was sentenced to 25 years in state prison.

And that's what his sentence will remain after Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn denied this week Fox's request to withdraw his plea.

The hearing included testimony from Fox's former attorney Aaron Delgado. It also included testimony that Fox and his sister had discussed hiring a private investigator to tail a prosecutor and a police detective.

Fox had been with the Daytona Beach Police Department for two years before his arrest in April 2022. Investigators found about 100 images and videos of child sexual abuse material on his phone and said Fox also participated in an online chat room on Kik in which group members shared more than 3,800 illegal images.

Fox entered no contest pleas to 38 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child, each punishable by 15 years in prison. It was an open plea, but prosecutors agreed to waive a minimum sentence of 63 years. That gave the judge a wide sentencing range: from no jail time all the way to 570 years in prison.

Blackburn sentenced Fox on March 15 to the 25 years in prison followed by 45 years of sex offender probation. Fox must also register as a sex offender.

Fox testified on Tuesday that Delgado had told him he would face no more than five years in prison if he entered the plea agreement.

During cross examination, Assistant State Attorney Mark Interlicchio asked Fox whether in court on Jan. 18 when he accepted the plea agreement if he said he had been promised no more five years.

"You never mentioned … this promise of five years, none of that,” Interlicchio said.

“I was under the impression that my attorney had my best interest,” Fox said.

Judge Blackburn then told Fox to answer the question.

Interlicchio repeated the question and Fox said, “No, sir.”

During questioning by his new attorney, Asad Ali, Fox said that after the sentence Delgado told him, “Oh, I didn’t expect that to happen. ”

Delgado took the stand and testified that prosecutors had at one point offered Fox 15 years in prison and that he would have to register as a sex offender. Later they reached an agreement on an open plea with the state waiving the minimum guideline sentence.

Delgado repeatedly denied guaranteeing Fox at any time that the prison sentence would be no greater than five years.

Ali did not cross-examine Delgado.

Fox’s sister, Alecia Barrett, testified that she had been present at all meetings between Delgado and her brother except one. She said Delgado had said her brother would get no more than five years in prison.

She said she was not at the plea hearing, but watched it on video.

“Did you see your brother say 'Oh, wait, wait, wait, I was only promised five years?'" Interlicchio asked.

“No” she said.

She admitted to discussing in a jail house phone call with her brother the possibility of hiring a private investigator to follow Interlicchio and Daytona Beach Police Sgt. Tim Ehrenkaufer. Interlicchio described it as an attempt to get “dirt” on the pair. Ehrenkaufer is listed as the arresting officer in a charging affidavit.

She said she considered having them followed in part because there were a lot of things that didn’t add up in the case.

At the end of the hearing, Blackburn said that she did not find Barrett's testimony credible. She said that she found Delgado credible. And she said that Fox had not testified that he didn’t understand the plea agreement.

The judge said she reviewed the plea form with Fox at the January plea hearing and she read portions which stated that Fox agreed no one had promised him a specific sentence and that he understood the judge was not required to follow any state recommendation.

Blackburn said that Fox, who is serving his time at Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City, was “suffering the consequences of the sentence that was imposed.”

As the judge ruled, Fox lowered and shook his head.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ex-Daytona Beach police officer's sentence remains at 25 years