Oakland man charged with sending child rape video to random number
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Oakland man charged with sending child rape video to random number

OAKLAND — A local resident has been arrested and charged with sending videos depicting child sexual abuse to a woman who told police she’d never interacted with his phone number before, court records show.

Brandon Branch, 35, of Oakland, was charged with one felony count of possessing child pornography and a misdemeanor count of child exploitation. He was charged earlier this month, but is now out of custody, court records show.

Judge Gregory Syren agreed to release Branch from jail on Jan. 10, but ordered Branch to have no contact with the woman who received the videos and not to own a smartphone, court records show. Prosecutors didn’t contest his release.

According to police, an East Bay woman received videos from a phone number she didn’t recognize, depicting two prepubescent children being sexually abused. When she texted the number back, saying she was calling police, Branch allegedly sent her a video of a man masturbating, authorities said.

Police tracked Branch down through his cellphone number. The videos were sent on Oct. 24, but prosecutors didn’t charge Branch until Jan. 10, records show. His case will be taken next in court on Friday.