An Independence County man has been charged with 35 counts of distributing, possessing, or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
The charges come after an Arkansas State Police investigation based on a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, according to information filed Monday in Independence County Circuit Court.
The investigation led the state police to a Batesville Boulevard residence and to Brandon Michael Needham (pictured), 38, of Batesville.
According to Needham’s arrest affidavit, investigators obtained two search warrants in June 2021: one for Brandon Needham’s cellular phone and one for the Batesville Boulevard residence. At the residence, the cell phone, an older cell phone, and two glass smoking devices were seized as evidence, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also alleges Needham admitted during an interview with investigators to watching child pornography on his phones and to downloading “thousands” of child pornography images during the past year.
Needham was booked into the Independence County jail Monday afternoon. His bond was set at $100,000.
Image via Independence County Sheriff’s Department
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