LOGAN — A 45-year-old Tremonton man has been sentenced to prison for driving to Logan to have sex with an undercover police officer, posing as a 13-year-old girl. Christopher Eric Breiland apologized and said he was just “curious,” when he drove to a predetermined location and found law enforcement waiting to arrest him.
Breiland was sentenced Monday, Nov. 18 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously pleaded guilty to attempted sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony; and enticing a minor, a second-degree felony.
According to prosecutors, Breiland started sending messages to an undercover officer on July 14, 2023. The Logan City Police officer was posing as a teenage girl on a popular chat app, attempting to locate and identify people who might be sexually exploiting children within the community.
Police report, Breiland initially told the officer he didn’t mind “hanging out” but didn’t want to do anything “illegal.” He also discussed picking her up while he was in Logan running errands on a few occasions.
As the messages continued, Breiland began making more “sexually charged comments.” The chats became more graphic in nature, including a time when he expressed a desire to engage in sexual activity with both the undercover officer and her supposed mother.
On July 27, 2023, Breiland told the undercover officer he was coming to Logan and wanted to meet up to have sex. A location was set up, where police were waiting to arrest him without incident when he arrived.
After receiving consent from Breiland, police searched his cell phone and found the chats with the undercover officer. They also found he had recently downloaded a police radio scanner app and was listening to it on his way to the meet up location.
Breiland reportedly told officers he didn’t intend to perform any of the illegal activities that he’d messaged about. He said that he wanted to stop and talk to the supposed girl and arrange to have her go to counseling for her problems.
During Monday’s sentencing, defense attorney Shannon Demler asked the court to consider treatment and probation instead of incarceration, saying Breiland wanted to go back to supporting his family. He noted the Tremonton man had no criminal history and was a model inmate in jail.
Detective Vehrs with the Logan City Police Department said Breiland appeared to be more dangerous than the typical suspects he has investigated. The Tremonton man showed signs of long-term grooming behavior. He also reportedly told police, he tells his children to stay dressed when around him.
Breiland told the court he had made a mistake and now his family is suffering without him home. He continued to claim he had no intention of having sex but was just wanting to meet the supposed teenage girl.
Judge Spencer Walsh said he didn’t believe Breiland and told him to stop minimizing his actions. He called the defendant a “danger to children in the community,” ordering him to serve six-years-to-life in prison, giving credit for the 17 months already served.