Ex-cop from Canada gets 10 years in prison for molesting 3 preteen girls at Minnesota casino

A former Canadian police officer has been sentenced to prison for approaching and molesting three girls under 13 at a casino in northern Minnesota.

Brady J. Hillis, 33, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to abusive sexual contact with the children at Fortune Bay Resort Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation near Tower, Minn.

Along with his time in prison, the sentence from Judge John Tunheim includes 10 years of supervision upon his release.

Hillis, while still a Provincial Police officer in the western Ontario city of Kenora, admitted in his plea agreement that he approached the girls, whom he didn't know, within 25 minutes on June 22, 2018, and sexually touched them either under or over their clothing. One assault occurred in a game arcade, another at a children's pool and a third at an adult pool.

All the incidents were captured by casino surveillance cameras, according to court records.

Hillis acknowledged that he is subject to deportation from the United States once his sentence is complete and "will likely be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison," the plea agreement filing read.

Ahead of sentencing, defense attorney Aaron Morrison said in a memo to the court that his client has struggled to stay sober, but "there is no justification for what Mr. Hillis did in this case. Punishment is not just required, it is deserved. ... Mr. Hillis did a horrible thing, [but] he is not a horrible person.

"At some point, he will return to Canada, and he will start his life again. All the factors in his life support the conclusion that he will not reoffend."