In letter from jail, ex-NC Rep. Brockman defends himself against sex crime charges
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Brockman sent a signed letter denying sex crime charges and blaming the alleged victim.
- The letter bears signature matching his and jail stamp tying it to Guilford County jail.
- Charges prompted bipartisan calls for resignation, a probe and Brockman’s exit.
In a letter sent to The News & Observer, former North Carolina Rep. Cecil Brockman defended himself against charges of sex crimes with a minor and accused the alleged victim of lying to him about his age.
“Why should I pay the ultimate price because someone wanted to grow up too fast?” he wrote in the letter, postmarked Nov. 4, the day before he was released from jail on bond. “Why should I bare (sic) the entirety of consequence for another person’s lie?”
Asked about the letter outside his home in High Point, where he is on house arrest, Brockman declined to confirm that he sent it.
Emails, phone calls and a letter sent to Brockman’s attorney, Alec Carpenter, were not returned.
The letter, however, bears Brockman’s signature — one that appears identical to the signature on his resignation letter to the General Assembly. It also includes a stamp identifying the letter as coming from “an inmate of the Guilford County Detention Center, High Point” where Brockman had been in custody.
It marks the first time Brockman himself has spoken publicly at length since he was arrested and charged last month with two counts each of indecent liberties with a child and statutory sex offense with a person who is 15 years old or younger.
The charges prompted immediate calls from both sides of the aisle for Brockman’s resignation from the state House, where he served six terms as a Democrat representing High Point. After several weeks passed and lawmakers announced plans to form a committee to investigate and potentially expel him, Brockman officially submitted his resignation.
Carpenter, speaking on Brockman’s behalf at a court hearing earlier this month, said that his client had “zero idea” that the victim — who was 14 when they met — was underage.
During that hearing, Brockman, who appeared virtually from jail, repeatedly interrupted the court’s proceedings attempting to defend himself, prompting the judge to admonish him and advise him to remain silent.
“Lies are being told, your honor,” Brockman said.
In his letter, Brockman repeats the claim that he was unaware of the real age of the alleged victim. Furthermore, he writes, he met the alleged victim on an adult dating app.
“His father knew he was staying with me a 41-year-old man and said nothing,” Brockman wrote. “... He didn’t have or do any schoolwork. His best friend lived in another state with her boyfriend. He told me he was a legally consenting age and he looked the age he claimed. He was 6’1 (and) muscular.”
In court earlier this month, Guilford County District Attorney Avery Crump said it was “obvious” from looking at and speaking with the alleged victim that he was a minor. Furthermore, she said, the prosecution has evidence that Brockman knew the individual was underage. Crump also said that she expected further charges to be filed against Brockman.
Crump’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the letter.
Brockman was released from custody on house arrest earlier this month after a judge significantly lowered his bail amount.
Crump objected to the release, telling the judge that Brockman was a flight risk.
As part of the conditions of his bail, Brockman is forbidden from owning a cellphone, using social media or having a passport.
“I keep wishing this is all a horrible nightmare but I keep waking up and it’s a reality that I cannot change,” he wrote in his letter. “I am so devastated, constantly hurt and sad. I do not know what to do. Praying God rescues me and heals me.”
Brockman’s next court date is scheduled for Jan. 16.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
