High Point, North Carolina — HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina House member was charged with sex crimes involving a teenager earlier this year, court records show.
Six-term Democratic state Rep. Cecil Brockman, 41, of High Point, was arrested Wednesday on two counts of statutory sex offenses with a child and indecent liberties with a child, according to a judge’s order detailing his arrest.
Brockman was being held without bail Thursday at the High Point Jail, according to the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office. He is scheduled to appear in court later Thursday.
The judge’s order says Brockman is accused twice on or about Aug. 15 of engaging in a sexual act with a 15-year-old, and twice allegedly committed and attempted to commit a “lewd and lascivious act” against the juvenile. The alleged victim in each felony charge was identified by the same initials.
In separate statements, the North Carolina Democratic Party, Republican House Speaker Destin Hall and House Democratic Leader Rep. Robert Reeves called on Brockman to immediately resign from his seat in the General Assembly.
“The profound seriousness of these criminal charges makes it impossible for him to effectively represent his community,” the state Democratic Party said in a news release.
An aide to Brockman in his legislative office said Brockman had no comment Thursday morning. A voice message left at a phone number connected to Brockman was not immediately answered. Electronic court records did not provide any information about whether he had an attorney.
The minimum prison sentence for someone convicted of a statutory sex offense is at least 12 years, according to state sentencing guidelines, while exercising indecent liberties with a child can be punished by actual prison time, probation, or both.
A document signed by a Guilford County judge explaining why Brockman was not allowed to be released Wednesday said the defendant “is a representative of the state and has access to abundant resources to assist him in escaping prosecution.”
Additionally, the document stated that Brockman “made attempts to contact the victim in this case,” even attempting to locate the teen at the hospital and “use his status” to obtain information about the teen’s whereabouts.
Brockman, who was first elected to the Legislature in 2014, has been targeted politically by fellow Democrats in recent years over his willingness to vote with Republicans on some key bills. In July, he and two other House Democrats helped override some vetoes by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
A former supporter of some school choice initiatives, Brockman was selected as one of four vice chairs of the House K-12 Education Committee during this General Assembly term, joining three Republicans. Brockman narrowly survived a primary challenge in the 2024 election for the 60th House District seat representing southwest Guilford County.