A Tiverton man will serve life in prison for a series of first degree sexual assaults of which he was found guilty earlier this year.

On Wednesday, Aug. 9, Rhode Island Superior Court Justice Maureen Keough sentenced Brian Brownell, 59, of Crandall Road, to life in prison, with a 20-year consecutive sentence to be served at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) in Cranston. Brownell was also ordered to have no contact with his victims.

The sentence comes after Brownell was found guilty of two counts of first degree sexual assault in May. Prosecutors said Brownell sexually assaulted a woman with whom he was acquainted in May 2006, in Newport. He also sexually assaulted a second woman at a home in Tiverton in 2018.

“With this sentencing, the punishment fits the crimes,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. “While these victims should be commended for the incredible courage they demonstrated in testifying against their assailant, the fact remains that the incredible pain he caused each of them is lifelong, which is why this life sentence is appropriate. I am grateful for the exceptional work of the Tiverton and Newport police departments and the prosecutors in my office.” 

Brownell, a registered sex offender, was previously convicted of indecent assault and battery on a person under 14 in Massachusetts in 2000, and possession of child pornography in Rhode Island in 2015.

“This defendant has proven he is beyond rehabilitation, and (the) sentencing reflects the severity of his crimes,” Tiverton Police Chief Patrick W. Jones said. “I want to thank the hard-working men and women of the Tiverton Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office for their diligence in investigating and prosecuting the defendant.”

Assistant Attorney General Eric Batista and Special Assistant Attorney General Erica Rebussini of the Office of the Attorney General and Community Policing Supervisor Jason Head of the Newport Police Department, as well as Detective Seargeant Joshua Pelletier of the Tiverton Police Department, led the investigation and prosecution of the case.