Petaluma man sent to prison for 15 years to life in child sex abuse case

A Petaluma man was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison plus an additional nine years on Monday for sexually abusing a young boy.

Brandon Bryon Cooper, 30, received the sentence after being found guilty of three felonies in court last March, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

The felonies were listed on the Sonoma County Superior Court website as performing sex acts with a child 10 years old or younger, committing lewd acts with a child and attempting to commit lewd acts with a child.

Investigators opened their case against Cooper after the victim, now 11, told his mother that Cooper had sexually assaulted him a few years before, prosecutors said. Cooper was a family friend who had frequent access to the child, according to the district attorney’s office statement.

Cooper was previously convicted of sexual battery after forcing a friend’s developmentally delayed relative to preform oral sex on him, prosecutors said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.