Former Salisbury University Student Government Association President Brendan Link has been charged with six counts of child pornography solicitation, according to charging documents of the District Court for Wicomico County.
All six charges are felonies. Each count, if convicted, carries up to 10 years in federal prison and/or up to $25,000.
Link was elected president of the SGA in April. He served as the organization’s vice president prior to his election.
Link published a letter of resignation on Aug. 1 citing “personal matters” that would not allow him to be “able to effectively execute [his] duties and responsibilities that come with the position.”
“The SGA executive board was made aware of an ongoing investigation into a former member of our organization,” a SGA statement read. “We do not have any other information other than what has been made public knowledge: he has been charged and the case is ongoing.”
The Flyer reached out to Link for comment but received no response.
According to the statement of charges, Link, 21, was charged with soliciting a juvenile male.
The juvenile’s mother went through her son’s phone while he was sleeping and saw Link was soliciting him for sexual acts and pornography via Snapchat messages, according to police.
According to charging documents, Link attempted to persuade the juvenile to let him record the juvenile’s sexual intercourse with females and sell the recording for “a couple hundred.” Link also discussed with the juvenile an encounter he had with another individual where the two performed sexual acts with one another and made $200-$300 in a night.
According to documents, the juvenile and his mother worked with police to locate Link, where they seized his cell phone for evidence. After obtaining a search warrant on Link’s cellular device, police observed the reported conversation between the two parties.
The juvenile reported more inappropriate messages between Link and himself where Link discussed recording each other doing sexual acts, according to police. Link also expressed a desire to participate in live cams.
The juvenile told police Link asked him to do live recordings on six separate occasions, according to police.
The following events took place in Wicomico County.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15, according to charging documents.
Editor's note: Brendan Link briefly worked as a photographer for The Flyer.
By NICK LEWIS
Editor
Featured image: Allison Gotard image.