Former attorney gets work release program in child porn cases

The day before Randy Brackin’s 63rd birthday, a judge denied his request for an amended sentence on his child pornography possession charges, which would’ve just given him probation.

Dale County Circuit Judge P.B. McLauchlin upheld the sentence of 13 months in the Houston County Community Corrections program that he handed down late last month in Houston County Circuit Court. A jury convicted Brackin earlier this year of 11 counts of child porn possession. A series of images with minors in sexual situations were found on Brackin’s computer.

Court records show Brackin received an eight year, 24-month sentence, all of which was suspended except for 13 months. The 13-month sentence was to be served with the county’s work release program — Houston County Community Corrections. The program allows people convicted of a crime to work during the day and spend the night at the old

Houston County Jail. He was also given five years of probation.

The case is currently on appeal, and Brackin will remain released from custody on bond until his appeal has been ruled on.

Brackin’s lawyers, Stephen Etheridge and Denny Holloway, asked the court to amend its original sentence to include several different options from just probation to a suspended community corrections sentence to serving out the community corrections sentence in either the Dale or Geneva County community corrections programs.

Gary Knight, the director of the Houston County Community Corrections program, repeatedly told the court Thursday that he did not believe Brackin was a suitable candidate for the county’s work release program.

“He’d have to be isolated, and that would call for more personnel on my part,” Knight said.
Knight said Brackin was a more suitable candidate for the Houston County Jail or the Department of Corrections.

Knight said he had been through training with the FBI on pedophiles, but Etheridge questioned whether Knight knew the difference between pedophilia and possession of child pornography.

Knight said community corrections has accepted sex offenders convicted of second-degree rape, and he cited one currently in their custody who married the victim of the crime. Knight said he believed the charges of second-degree rape and possession of child pornography to be vastly different. But Knight said he’d follow the court’s ruling. 

“I’m just trying to maintain the integrity of my program,” Knight said.

McLauchlin said at the completion of the appeals process Brackin would serve out his 13-month term with the Houston County program. He acknowledged the confusion in allowing convicted sex offenders into the work release program, but he said it was allowed for class C felony sex crimes, such as possession of child pornography.

Brackin also has nine other felony counts of possession of child pornography that remain pending against him.

No trial date has been set for the other charges, but Etheridge announced his client’s plea of not guilty. Etheridge also said attorney Derek Yarbrough would serve as lead counsel, and would be assisted by attorney Dustin Fowler at the second child porn trial.