Update 6:10pm – Johnston County Commissioners voted unanimously to begin the search to replace Richard D. Braswell, representing District 3. Commissioners will seek applications from the public to fill the vacant term expiring in December 2026. Under state law, the replacement must be named within 60 days.
October 7, 2024
SMITHFIELD – Following a two-week trial in Johnston County Superior Court, Johnston County Commissioner Richard D. Braswell of Princeton was found guilty late-today (Monday) of taking indecent liberties with a child.
Commissioner Braswell was arrested on June 29, 2022 following an investigation by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred in June 2022 and involved a juvenile female, who was 13 at the time.
Jurors deliberated for a little more than two hours Monday afternoon before returning the guilty verdict, to the single felony offense, at approximately 4:52pm.
Afterwards, Mr. Braswell was sentenced to serve an active 20 to 33 month prison sentence, and register as a sex offender for 30 years. Braswell was permanently barred from making contact with the victim.
Braswell was appointed to the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, representing District 3, in December 2021 to fill an unexpired term through December 2022. Braswell had no opposition for election in November 2022 and won a four-year term.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Bye Felicia.
A deacon in a church messing with a 13 year old. Some how 3 years don’t seem long enough.
Did this occur from knowing each other at the church? Which one?
Absolutely sickening and I can’t say what I really want to or this simply will get moderated and not posted.
@Brett: Because JoCo voters elected and re-elected this child molestor.
Finally Justice is served…. why in the world was he on the Board of Commissioners so long thought?
“Braswell had no opposition for election in November 2022 and won a four-year term.”
Because no one challenged him in the primary! People vote stupid and uninformed. The commissioners should have booted him off when he was arrested.
Yes!
Three years for messing with a 13-year-old child that’s that’s justice
He should have never been allowed to remain on the board once he was arrested! He will reap his reward in prison.
Shame on the 30,000 JoCo citizens who voted for this child abuser in 2022!
You a Democrat?
Thanks to the 50,000 plus of you who voted for this known child molestor. He was charged LONG before the last election, and you all voted for him anyway.
Oh, and major kudos to the Johnston County GOP who kept your mouths shut and your heads buried in the sand after charges were filed. I guess it’s better to have a Republican child molestor on the ballot than to risk a non-good ole boy getting elected.
And Butch Lawter and the rest of the GOP board can pretend they give a da*n about the victim now, but we’ve all watched you guys sitting on your a**es on this matter since it came out before the election. Funny how you didn’t give a da*n about the victim until you finally had no choice.
What a bunch of despicable pigs…
All these locals have to see his an “R” beside anyone’s name and it’s an automatic vote. Then they all complain about how the county is run.. time to get rid of the now maga party and get people in who will make a difference. But they want that R. Wealthy land developers etc., then the locals whine about all the new houses. Wake up. You keep voting for demons and complain. You knew they were evil demons when you voted for them. Put this county and country over party for once…
I hope his victim – assuming he’d was just one (so far) is getting therapy, feeling some justice and will now file civil suit. Make him pay with more than just loss of freedom for a few years….
Democrats do the same thing.
Actually we don’t. We ask them to leave office or if there’s a legal way to remove them we try to do that. Look at the Menendez case and the New York mayors case -so many Democrats are asking for removal and in Menendez, the guy in New Jersey, I think that was his name anyways , many Democrats were begging him to resign right after the indictment came out. Meanwhile, the GOP has a 34 count convicted felon sexual abuser running for president. No we are not the same.
Ask John Edwards….
Very well said. And the chairman says, we take this matter seriously. No you don’t and you didn’t. He was allowed to stay on the board.
Butch Lawter is too worried about which books are in library to actually care about Dickie’s actions or his victim. Remember that when you see ol Butch out & about & in the parades coming up soon.
Stop his subdivision in pine level. Make sure he doesn’t profit any more
Where is it? He should have to pay back his earnings from the time he was charged! That was our taxpayers dollars!
Everyone in that church took up for him and backed him over this 13 year old victim.
Close your mouth unless you know the really truth behind it all. Stop flaping your gums. About something you do not in anyway know a single thing about.
Rec, I do believe that we all know he was charged, placed under a Million or more dollars bail! And obviously, he was found quilty! So just what are you talking about? You must be his buddy! He’s a sick POS!
He is definitely a POS, but his bail was nowhere near a million dollars. $35k.
https://jocoreport.com/johnston-county-commissioner-indicted-on-indecent-liberties-charge/
You must know Mr. Child Molester very well in order to be defending him this way! You are probably just a POS just like he is. Nasty yall are nasty. What pleasure did he find in doing that kind of stuff to a minor? I hope he gets what he deserves in jail!!!
This is why we need to get rid of the Good Ol’ Boys mentality..
Then we need to burn the current maga party to the ground and try and get other people in joco to run for office. Surely we have qualified non affiliated and democratic candidates for local offices? The problem is the locals are brainwashed – must vote R and follow dear leader. I mean we have people that will still vote for Robinson. That says so much – and nothing good – about these people. They are the ones that kept Braswell in office. Make out of that what you will.
He will never do three years. He will be out in a couple of months.!!!
Very sickening if this would have been somebody without a little bit of power, the store will be way different. Very sickening
Has he resigned yet?
Justice?..? The child will suffer for years to come. I bet if you looked close enough more children were molested by this sick man. I hope he gets his Justice in prison. He will probably be in protected custody and all his followers will be running to put money on his prison account.
Justice by a jury of peers was meted out in accordance with the law. If really guilty, he needs prayers for repentance. If not guilty, he also needs prayer for misjustice. Either way, all of you should be praying for him.
Just think of how many of these stories would never happen if we cherished two parents house hold? Parents know where your kids are all the time please!
He is on HOUSE ARREST not prison time.
Should not be sent to prison. Let the family of the girl take care of it!
It is called due process. Everyone is entitled to it. Just because someone is charged with a crime does not mean that they actually did it. That is why we have the court system and not the court of public opinion. I do not personally now him, but know of him. I do not have a dog in this fight so to speak. Now that he has been found gulity, let his punishment commence and remove him from the board and fill the vacancy. Unless I am mistaken, this is what is being done.
Why did he only serve one day and now home on house arrest?
If you lookin Johnston county jail inmate search it shows him as an inmate…
I left the ballot blank when I got to county commissioner district 3 in 2022. I did not vote for that evil man. He should have resigned when charged. The county comissioners should have demanded he resign.
I 100% agree and I, too, refused to vote for this pedophile in 2022. He was appointed to get on the board and no one stepped up to run against a charged pedophile. He was then “elected” by default. The other commissioners should have removed him when the charges were brought but those chicken sh*ts just shut up and let things be, sitting in the same room as him for 2 years knowing what he allegedly did. We need to vote them all out!
Biden Won, you must live under a rock if you think a 2 parent home would have prevented
this from happening!! Evil happens every day and doesn’t discriminate.
This is sad he got 20 to 33 months In jail and has to be on the sex offender registration for 30. Years . If it was the opposite race they will got the a longer sentence. That’s fair make it make sense he worked for the Johnston county commissioners district 3 he should of known better. He made himself look bad.
The man is 76 and will hopefully live the rest of his life in prison.
The usual subversive malcontents are making this about Trump.
Any politician – local,state or Federal who has been convicted of a felony or other serious crime should not be allowed to run or stay in office. Upon an idictment, they should be placed on leave, at the very least. I am old enough to remember when having a woman, other than his wife, sit on his lap on boat was enough to be asked to drop out the presidential election. If jobs and rental units, among other places, can deny based on a crime – don’t you think our elected official – in any office – should be held to the same standard? After all, this is not North Korea….
Hart was a weak candidate that didn’t stand a chance of winning against Bush. That little photo onboard Monkey Business was all that the Demokkkratic machine needed to ouster him. Now, you fast forward to Slick Willie and you have people like Stephanopoulos that go after the victims. Not excusing Braswell-I hope he rots.
The Constitution does not outlaw Trump from running for office. I’m quite sure that there have been felons run for office in our political system.
My question to you is: are you ok with the fact we let felons run for office – any office? Many companies – even in JoCo will not even hire a felon. Landlords can deny an application because of a felony conviction.
Our governments – local, state and federal could also deny felons from office and I don’t understand why so many people are okay with having a criminal in office. Political party shouldn’t even matter and until the past decade both parties pretty much agreed with that sentiment. There were some things – and most were not even criminal – just disgusting behavior – that would once end a political career. I rarely want to go backwards but this “anything goes” in politics is going go to be the death of America as we know it.
Until there is a Constitutional Amendment barring felons from holding office, there is nothing to be done about it or private entities barring felons.
As far as a ‘felon’ in office, well lets just say that you-know-who has never harmed me as much as the Demokkkrats have. Politics is a dirty business-its pretty much survival of the fittest. I worked with another county’s Board of Elections some time ago. Some of the crap I saw is cutthroat, but the candidates were in it to win it.
Personally, I want you-know-who to win in an Electoral landslide that the Jim Crowe party will never recover from. When I weigh the polices of Trump and the Dems, I’m going with Trump. My family was better off and I bought home more of my paycheck and my money went farther. Now-not so much.
How come he gets to wear a suit and tie for his inmate picture. Does he get to wear that on the prison grounds everyday? He should be ashamed of himself. His “church friends” should be too.
God is his judge, not you. People are good at throwing stones with a log in their own eye. We have a system of justice, but it is not always perfect as God is.