Jackson, Mich. (WKHM) — A former behavioral therapist was sentenced to 12-25 years in prison on Wednesday (September 10) after pleading No Contest – Mentally Ill to a charge of first degree criminal sexual conduct.

33-year-old Brandon Noppe was an employee at Residential Options, Inc. (ROI) in Jackson, which provides behavioral therapy and other services to people with developmental disabilities including autism. That is where Noppe was said to have met an autistic 11-year-old boy named Eli, with Noppe repeatedly sexually assaulting him between 2018 and 2020.

The boy’s mother spoke in the courtroom of Judge Susan B. Jordan at the sentencing, stating that Noppe sought Eli out even after he was no longer going to ROI. She called Noppe “disgusting”, saying that she would find rashes and other abnormalities on her son’s body during the timespan of the assaults, making her worry that he had contracted something without knowing where the marks had came from.

She said that Noppe has made it impossible for her to trust anyone else with the care of her son, and that finding out the reality of the situation was like entering a state of shock after she believed she could rely on Noppe to properly care for Eli.

Judge Jordan also ruled that Noppe’s electronic activity will be monitored for the remainder of his life following his prison sentence.