Ex-Port Royal preschool worker now charged with 9 federal child sex crimes in Iowa
A former Beaufort County preschool worker now faces nine federal sex crime charges after appearing before an Iowa court on Tuesday, according to a court documents.
St. Helena Island resident Brandon Scott Baker, a 38-year-old former employee at Sea Island Sprouts preschool in Port Royal, was charged with the following crimes in Iowa, according to his indictment filed on Feb. 26 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa:
- One count of sexual exploitation of a child
- Two counts of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual
- One count of receipt of child pornography
- One count of transportation of child pornography
- Four counts of possession of child pornography
The indictment alleges that the crimes occurred between 2011 and 2018.
If convicted of the federal charges, Baker faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a possible maximum sentence of life in prison, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.
The cases involving Baker span three states and multiple jurisdictional levels.
The South Carolina charges against Brandon Baker
The federal charges in Iowa came after Baker was arrested on campus of the Port Royal preschool during morning dropoff on Jan. 27. Baker is facing three three state charges of sexual exploitation of a minor (two third degree and one second degree counts).
. The state charges involve alleged possession, uploading or exchanging of CSAM, otherwise known as child pornography. Public records indicate Baker moved to Beaufort County around June 2024.
Arrest warrants allege Baker committed the higher offense around Nov. 15 in his St. Helena home using a “file-sharing network” while under investigation by officials in Telluride, Colorado.
As of late January, Baker remained under investigation for alleged possession of child pornography in Telluride, Colorado, where he previously lived. He had been working at another local preschool but resigned after police detained him and searched his house for evidence, according to The Telluride Times.
Federal charges in Iowa
After bailing out of the Beaufort County jail, Baker was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations and extradited to Iowa for the federal charge, which involved accusations of Baker sexually abusing an underage boy, according to an affidavit.
Baker is being held without bond in Iowa, and is scheduled to appear in court on March 6 to be arraigned on the charges listed in the indictment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.
