The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office has filed three additional charges of child molestation against a suspect wanted on two previously unsealed charges of child molestation, the South Bend Police Department said in an Aug. 27 press release.
Brandon Pryor, 37, now faces a total of five charges of child molestation — level one felonies — in the two separate but similar incidents, police said.
In the news release, police said the three counts were added in connection to an October 2024 South Bend case, in which a juvenile reported that she was sexually assaulted.
The South Bend Police Department seeks public assistance in locating suspect accused of two counts of child molestation.
A girl reported that while she was walking to catch a school bus near Fox and St. Joseph streets, a man driving a pickup truck asked her if she needed a ride, police said. She accepted because she was cold, police said. Before the man dropped the girl off near Ireland Road, the girl reported that he sexually assaulted her in a field and then in an empty home, the news release said.
The girl reported the incident to her school resource officer, and the case was transferred to the St. Joseph County Special Victims Unit, police said.
A suspect in a May 2025 incident
In May, police said, a teenage girl was walking to school in the 200 block of North Olive Street, after missing the bus, and a man driving a black SUV pulled over and told her to get into the vehicle. Because she saw a car seat in the vehicle, the girl thought it was safe, got in the SUV and asked the man to drive her to school, police said.
After arriving at school that day, the girl told a South Bend Police school resource officer that the man parked near an abandoned house and sexually assaulted her, police said.
Investigators identified Pryor as the suspect, and the prosecutor’s office charged him June 26, accusing him of two counts of child molestation.
His warrant was sealed to give police time to locate him, police said in an Aug. 15 press release, but the case was unsealed Aug. 12 to allow the information to be shared publicly.
On Aug. 15, South Bend Police sought the public’s help in locating Pryor.
Description of Pryor
As of Aug. 27, Pryor is not in custody, police said. He is described as being 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds.
Police said Pryor is known to drive several different vehicles, including a black Chevrolet Tahoe alleged to have been used during the May incident, and a black BMW SUV.
He should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. Police ask that if anyone sees Pryor, they should not approach him and instead should call 911.
Pryor, who is believed to be in the Chicago area now, has ties to South Bend, Chicago and Indianapolis.
Anyone with information regarding the incident can place an anonymous tip to Michiana Crime Stoppers online, by app or by calling 574-288-7867. Tips that lead to an arrest can be eligible for a monetary reward.
Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Wanted man accused of sexual assault of two teen girls, police say