AUSTIN — A registered sex offender who has been charged with sex offenses in at least three counties pleaded guilty to felony criminal sexual conduct last week in Mower County District Court.
Brian Luke Broulik, 40, of Blooming Prairie, was charged June 11 with third-degree criminal sexual conduct; he pleaded guilty on Wednesday to an amended charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Sentencing was set for May 2. Broulik faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both. He's being held in Mower County Jail.
The plea agreement is the latest court action for Broulik. He posted bail in Olmsted County in May after being arrested for possessing child pornography; the charge was the result of a lengthy investigation by FBI special agents, the Steele County Sheriff's Office and Detective Mike Ranfranz of the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office. Upon Broulik's release, the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office took the unusual step of warning the public that Broulik "is a threat to the community."
The same day that Broulik was released on $25,000 bond, he was arrested at his job in Rochester after authorities discovered suspicious text messages in their follow-up investigation from the child pornography case. That led to the charge in Mower County.
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He's scheduled to appear in Olmsted County District Court on May 9 to face the child pornography charge.
In 2006, Steele County officials tried, unsuccessfully, to have Broulik civilly committed. The county of residence is responsible for any commitment proceedings.
Broulik, who is listed as a Level 3 sex offender by the state, was convicted in 1997 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Steele County. He was convicted of an identical charge a year later in Rice County.
Sex offender pleads not guilty to one of four charges
