Hot Pursuit

Over the years I have covered many criminals and the crimes that go along with them. Some are shocking to the conscience, others are downright silly and humerous while there are those that are horrifying and sad. For obvious reasons, some stick out in my mind more than others. 
One of those cases that rises above all others in a disgusting kind of way is the child porn and sexual misconduct involving Brian Broulik, a convicted Level 3 sexual offender who used to live outside Blooming Prairie. Besides dappling in child porn, Broulik abused young boys in several neighboring counties, including Dodge, before he was finally caught—again. 
The horrifying circumstances surrounding Broulik’s sexual deviant days date back to 1996. At that time, he abused a young boy in Owatonna. He was in and out of prison and treatment several times after that first encounter. Then 2012 came around and Broulik exchanged text messages with teenage boys and met them for consensual sexual encounters. He also molested young boys and produced child porn showcasing in a sick way his terrible behavior. 
I began covering Broulik in 2012 when he was locked up on the most recent string of sexual abuse. What intrigued me about this case was when one of the lead investigators used the analogy of peeling an onion. He said the Broulik case was like peeling layer after layer of onion with no end in sight. In fact, the child pornography involving Broulik took on an international twist to countries like Great Britain and New Zealand. 
About a year ago I began digging into this case on my own. Over that time, I interviewed numerous law enforcement officials, federal and local prosecutors and public defenders and poured over countless court documents. My only regret is that I didn’t get to talk to any victims or their families to learn about the pain and anguish they’ve experienced. 
What I found was a heart wrenching story of many young boys who were in most cases helplessly victimized at the hands of one man—Brian Broulik. A detective close to the case told me that no one will ever really know how many kids Broulik victimized. Broulik has been described as the “big, bad bogey man” and “a predator” who is constantly lurking around for young boys. 
“He took the innocence and safety away from the kid and just stripped it away,” a detective said referring to Broulik when he molested a 4-year-old boy in Kasson in 2012. 
The results of my year-long investigation are revealed in a two page news special found elsewhere in this edition. As sad as this case is extending over an almost 20-year period, it’s fortunate that no one has ever been physically injured or killed like what has happened with some other sexual perverts. But certainly many have been emotionally scarred for life. 
This case made me wonder what kind of person is behind all of the horrible allegations that have surfaced. I found someone who is referred to by various people as a monster, rapist, predator and the bogey man. It just sent chills down my spine when I dug through the records of what all happened in this case.  
I don’t wish ill will on anyone. However, Broulik is an obvious threat to the safety of society and deserves nothing more than being locked up forever. As cruel as that may sound, he’s been given many chances to change his behavior, but nothing seems to work. 
While Broulik is locked up and no longer a threat to society, there are 351 Level 3 sex offenders living in our communities across the state. Level 3 offenders, which Broulik was classified when he was free living in the Blooming Prairie area, are the most dangerous and considered the most likely to reoffend. Sadly, that’s what happened in Broulik’s case. 
One interesting twist I found in this story was how Steele County officials tried desperately to civilly commit Broulik in 2006. Minnesota has a civil commitment law in which dangerous sex offenders can be locked up indefinitely in a secured hospital. However, the Steele County Attorney’s Office got no help as they reached out to three different doctors back in 2006 and each time had been told Broulik was fine to be released back into society. The county dropped the civil commitment process and a judge released Broulik. Six years later, if not sooner, he was back to his old tricks and endangering society. 
The cold, hard fact established by the government in the most recent child porn case was that Broulik is a predator who is deserving of a significant sentence. In June 2014, a federal judge agreed and placed Broulik in prison for 27 years. Prosecutors and investigators vow to make sure Broulik never sees the light of day again.
That seems appropriate to me for someone who went in hot pursuit of endangering innocent young children for many years.