<h2>Thomsen was wanted on charges for soliciting sex from a minor</h2>
<strong>By Mindy Lucas</strong>

A former area firefighter wanted on charges of soliciting sex from a 13-year-old girl has been arrested and released on bond.

Brandon Thomsen, 46, was arrested on Thursday, Dec. 17, by authorities in Georgia and brought back to Beaufort on Sunday, Dec. 20, where he was taken to the Beaufort Detention Center, Beaufort Police Department spokesman Capt. George Erdel said.

The department had learned of Thomsen’s presence at a medical facility in Georgia on Dec. 6 after multiple law enforcement agencies began looking for him earlier in the month.

Why Thomsen was at the facility or what he was being treated for has not been released due to patient privacy concerns, authorities have said.

According to his Columbia attorney Jack Swerling, Thomsen did not fight extradition, a statement issued by the police department. Swerling is a prominent and longtime criminal defense lawyer.

This past week, the Burton Fire District announced that Thomsen was no longer employed by the district. The announcement followed another earlier in the month that he had been placed on “immediate suspension” by the district after it was notified that warrants had been taken out for his arrest.

Thomsen was booked on charges of one count of criminal solicitation of a minor and one count of disseminating obscene material to a person under 18, and was released on Monday on a bond totaling $50,000, according to Beaufort County court records.

A court date had not been set as of press time.