Sex offender on probation charged with 25 counts related to child pornography

Staff report

ARCHER, Fla. – Brandon Michael McClurg, 33, of Archer, a Registered Sexual Offender who was recently released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence for lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor out of Levy County, was arrested on June 12 for failing to report an email address; after a warrant was obtained for his devices, 25 charges related to child pornography were added.

On June 11, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO) detective was contacted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which received a CyberTip that McClurg had attempted to solicit a child for sexual conduct using Kik and that he had sought child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on that app. The tip provided the email address associated with the suspect’s Kik account.

As a Registered Sexual Offender, McClurg is required to report all email or internet identifiers within 48 hours of use, but no email or internet identifiers were listed on his registration.

On June 12, McClurg’s probation officer and the ASO detective met with McClurg at his residence in Archer, and his probation officer conducted a warrantless search of his bedroom, where she reportedly found two cell phones; a Yahoo icon on one of the phones reportedly opened the same email account that was reported in the CyberTip, and the phones were turned over to the ASO detective until a search warrant for their contents could be obtained. McClurg was charged with failing to report an email address and providing false information on a sexual offender registration form.

The detective reported that when McClurg saw the probation officer holding one of the cell phones, his “demeanor changed. He began to lean forward, wide-eyed, and started to shake.” When the probation officer commented on the phone, McClurg reportedly made a “stuttering statement” that the phone was “only for games.” He provided the passcode, and the probation officer unlocked the phone and noted that all of the icons appeared to be for games; however, one of the icons (a “Y” icon) opened a Yahoo email account with emails that had been received in recent days. The account name reportedly matched the suspect’s email address, and the probation officer arrested McClurg for violating his probation by accessing the internet. Post Miranda, McClurg reportedly declined to answer any questions.

A search warrant for the contents of the suspect’s Kik account reportedly produced selfies of McClurg, along with nine files of CSAM; one video showed a nude pre-pubescent female in sexual poses. The account reportedly sent five different CSAM videos to 10 other accounts.

A subpoena for the IP address associated with the account reportedly led to a Verizon account billed to the address of McClurg’s residence.

A search warrant was granted for McClurg’s cell phone, and the search reportedly produced 41 CSAM files (28 are unique, and the others are duplicates) that had been saved to the phone’s photo gallery at some point. The images and videos on the phone show nude or partially nude girls, between 6 and 14 years of age, engaged in sexual activity with men and other children; two of the videos were AI-generated.

McClurg has been charged with 12 counts of possession of 10 or more child pornography images, 10 counts of transmission of child pornography, two counts of possession of AI-generated child pornography, and use of a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony. He has one felony conviction (sexual); he served a 10-year prison sentence and was released on December 2, 2024, to begin serving five years of probation.

On June 13, Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered McClurg held without bail until the probation violation is resolved and set bail at $50,000 on the charges for failing to register his email address. On July 23, Judge Kristine Van Vorst added $2.6 million in bail for the child pornography charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.