Docs: Man charged in North Myrtle Beach found with ‘voluminous’ amount of child sexual abuse material

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NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Authorities said a man arrested in North Myrtle Beach was found with a large amount of child sexual abuse material.

Records show Chadwick Branch, of Danville, Virginia, was taken into custody by the North Myrtle Beach Police Department on Tuesday. He’s charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

A police report and arrest warrants obtained by WMBF News state police received a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on Jan. 9. The tip indicated that a video depicting girls under the age of 13 conducting sexual acts was intercepted from the messaging app Kik in July 2024.

Documents state the IP address was confirmed to be registered to a unit on South Ocean Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach, with the owner confirming Branch was staying in the unit during the time the video was intercepted. It was also discovered Branch was out of the country.

Agents from the Department of Homeland Security later made contact with Branch at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Jan. 30. Documents state that during a search, a “voluminous” amount of child sexual abuse material was found on Branch’s phone.

The phone was transferred to the North Myrtle Beach Police Department, who later discovered the original video NMBPD was tipped off about. Another video was also found showing two female minors.

Records show Branch was booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Tuesday. He was released hours later on a $10,000 bond.

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