John Jefferson
Brandon Robert and Rebecca Berg (District Attorney’s Office for the 18th Judicial District).
When confronted with claims that he abused a teenage girl for years, a Colorado man said his genitals were too small and he was “too fat” to carry out the acts, according to prosecutors.
The District Attorney’s Office of the 18th Judicial District announced Tuesday that Brandon Robert Berg, 44, was sentenced to 80 years behind bars. Jurors had convicted him of three counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, three counts of aggravated incest, and a count of second-degree assault.
Prosecutors tried him with his wife, Rebecca Berg, 52, who was convicted at the same trial of two counts of aggravated incest. Authorities said Brandon Berg claimed to be gay as part of his defense against the abuse claims.
“When questioned by investigators, Berg said that he was unable to have sexual intercourse due to the size of his belly fat and small size of his genitalia,” they wrote. “He also claimed he had an alternate sexual orientation which made him disinterested in the conduct alleged. Berg stood by all of these claims at trial when he chose to testify.”
Rebecca Berg was sentenced to four years to life behind bars. Once out, she must serve 20 years to life of sex offender intensive supervision.
According to prosecutors, the abuse survivor stepped forward to Aurora police in 2020 when she was 19. She said the abuse started when she was 15, and that Rebecca Berg would join in. The last abuse happened the day before police took her statement, she said.
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“The victim reported that she had sexual encounters with Berg in order to avoid being physically beaten and injured,” prosecutors wrote. “While interviewing the victim, a detective documented a 4-inch long scar across her back which she said was the result of Berg scratching her with a fork. The detective noted the most significant scar was on the back of the victim’s right shoulder, which the victim said was the result of the defendant branding her with a knife that he heated up on a stove top. The branding contained the initials ‘RB,’ which the victim believed stood for ‘Brandon’ and ‘Rebecca,’ her abusers.”
The prosecutor’s office credited the survivor for stepping forward.
“The victim in this case showed immense courage and bravery by speaking up,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacob Kremin said. “She played an instrumental role in preserving evidence. The defendants worked together to present an array of ridiculous excuses, but DNA left no doubt in the jury’s mind regarding the defendant’s guilt.”
“These defendants robbed a young girl of her teenage years — sexually, physically and emotionally abusing her,” said Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley. “It’s appalling that a mother and stepfather would repeatedly abuse someone they were supposed to love and support. While no length of time in prison will undo the trauma the victim of these horrible crimes endured, we hope these sentences will offer her some measure of healing.”
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