SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The father of The 5 Browns – a classical piano musical group consisting of five siblings – has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three of his daughters when they were children.
Keith Brown, 55, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of first-degree felony sodomy upon a child and two counts of second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports.
Under the terms of the plea deal, the group’s father could face a sentence of up to life in prison on the first-degree felony and up to 15 years each on the second-degree felonies.
His sentencing was scheduled for March 31.
"Today was the next step in a very long process of accountability for a reprehensible act," defense attorney Steven Shapiro told the newspaper, adding that Keith Brown felt "remorseful."
The family patriarch appeared in court just days after he and his wife, Lisa Brown, 54, survived a horrific car crash. The Valentine’s Day accident, in which the couple’s Porsche plunged off a road into a 300-foor canyon, happened four days after charges were filed in the case.
The group’s three adult sisters — Desirae, 32, Deondra, 30, and Melody, 26 — have consented to the release of their identities in revealing their father’s sexual abuse. They also approved the plea deal.
"They wanted their father to take responsibility more than anything else," Deputy Utah County Attorney David Sturgill told the paper. "And they felt there should be a serious punishment."
Court documents reveal the abuse stemmed from separate occasions between November 1990 and October 1992, November 1990 and November 1992 and March 1997 and March 1998 in Utah County.
A source close to the family told the paper the sisters contacted authorities after finding out their father, who managed the quintet until 2008, planned to manage a new crop of child musicians.
Photo credit: Andrew Southam
