Watertown man sentenced for solicitation of a minor

February 1, 2022
Mike Tanner

WATERTOWN, S.D.–A Watertown man was sentenced Monday to six years in the South Dakota Penitentiary for Solicitation of a Minor.

Thirty nine year-old Matthew Bren was arrested by Watertown police in August 2019 after communicating with an undercover female police officer who he thought was a 12 year-old girl, making arrangements to meet for sex.

He pleaded no contest to one count of Solicitation of a Minor, a Class Four felony, in May 2021.

Judge Robert Spears sentenced Bren to 10 years in prison, with four years suspended. Bren was given credit for 886 days spent in jail and under house arrest.

He was fined $500 plus court costs, and will have to reimburse the county for the cost of a pscyho-sexual evaluation.