Port Royal teacher’s Iowa trial set as plea talks continue

June 17, 2026

2–3 minutes

Summary

Brandon Baker’s federal trial is set for Aug. 17 as his lawyer says a plea offer is likely.

Why this matters

The case involves criminal allegations across multiple states and a former preschool employee in Beaufort County. The upcoming Iowa proceedings and any plea deal could determine how the federal charges are resolved.

A former Port Royal preschool teacher charged in child exploitation cases in South Carolina and Iowa is scheduled to stand trial in federal court Aug. 17, unless he accepts a plea agreement his lawyer said was expected.

Brandon Baker, 38, of Beaufort, pleaded not guilty in late February to nine federal charges in the Northern District of Iowa. His trial, originally set for late April, was delayed twice after U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Roberts approved defense requests.

In both motions, defense attorney Jill M. Johnston cited the “voluminous” evidence and difficulties meeting with Baker in person because he is being held at the Bremer County Jail, about 90 minutes from the Cedar Rapids courthouse.

In a June 4 motion, Johnston wrote that plea negotiations were continuing and “it is likely a plea agreement will be extended to Mr. Baker in the next week.” She wrote that more time would allow Baker to consider any offer and “determine whether or not he wishes to take his case to trial.” Prosecutors did not oppose the request, and Roberts approved it the next day.

Baker formerly worked at Sea Island Sprouts, a preschool near downtown Port Royal that serves children ages 1 to 4. He was arrested there Jan. 27 during morning drop-off and charged by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

The next day, after posting bond in Beaufort County, Baker was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations and extradited to Iowa. The federal case includes allegations that he sexually abused an underage boy in Grundy Center, Iowa, in 2013.

According to the criminal complaint, Telluride, Colorado, police executed search warrants in November 2024 at Baker’s home and the preschool where he worked, Rascals Rainbow Rockies. Investigators said they seized a memory card containing multiple child sexual abuse images, including photos of a “nude prepubescent boy” who later told police the two “regularly” had sex in Baker’s apartment in Grundy Center when he was underage.

The material allegedly found on Baker’s electronics led to nine federal charges in 2026, including two counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

In January, Sea Island Sprouts administrators told parents that, based on limited information from police, “there is no indication that any children at Sea Island Sprouts were involved” in Baker’s alleged crimes. Port Royal police said in February they were investigating a report of Baker’s “suspicious actions” at the preschool. As of June, no charges had been announced in that investigation.

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