Local News

Johnston County commissioner arrested for indecent liberties with child from his church

Court documents showed a Johnston County commissioner was charged with indecent liberties with a child on Wednesday.

Posted Updated

By
Chelsea Donovan
, WRAL reporter
SMITHFIELD, N.C. — A Johnston County commissioner was arrested for indecent liberties with a child on Wednesday.

Richard D. Braswell, 73, serves as the commissioner for District 3.

The Johnston County Sheriff's office said they'd been investigating Braswell since a young girl and her family came into their office on June 6. The girl alleged she'd had an "inappropriate interaction with an adult male acquaintance."

According to a very close relative of the teenage girl, Braswell had a previous connection with his victim. He took her places and bought her things. The girl had known him for many years.

The relative said, "I never saw this coming."

She also said the alleged incident happened inside Braswell's office.

Braswell attended church with her at Ignite Baptist Church, according to the girl's family member. Land records show Braswell also owns the parcel of land where the church stands.

Commissioner arrested for indecent liberties. Image source: Johnston County PIO.

Braswell was appointed as commissioner in Dec. 2021 to fill the unexpired term of Commissioner Chad Stewart through 2022. He filed for election to District 3 and had no opposition for the seat in November this year.

Braswell was reelected in November, after he had already been charged.

Johnston County's commissioner chair Butch Lawter responded to the arrest, saying, "We just learned about the warrant this morning. We are evaluating things, and seeing what the process is for legal system -- and we'll worry about that and what it means for commissioners and county as a whole soon.”

A spokesman confirmed that the county was aware of the warrant but said it would be premature to comment on it.

Court documents indicate the offense happened on April 18.

According to the girl's relative, "The victim is strong and doing fine."

Braswell was in jail, but bonded out at $35,000. He will face a judge Thursday.

WRAL News did reach out to Braswell for comment, but he did not respond.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.