Appeals court orders resentencing in Brunswick County child sex crimes case

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld part of a Brunswick County child sex abuse case but vacated part of the judgment and ordered resentencing.

Thomas Davis Ingram Jr. was convicted in 2023 after electing to represent himself for part of the case.

The appeals court ruled Ingram validly waived his right to counsel on the first-degree statutory sex offense with a child by adult charges. Those convictions remain in place.

But the court found the trial court did not properly verify that Ingram had waived his right to counsel on the later-added indecent liberties with a child charges.

Because of that, the appeals court vacated the judgment that included 12 counts of first-degree statutory sex offense with a child by an adult and 15 counts of indecent liberties with a child.

The court remanded the case to Brunswick County Superior Court for resentencing on the 12 sex offense counts.

A separate judgment covering three counts of first-degree statutory sex offense with a child by an adult, and a consecutive sentence of 300 to 400 months, was left undisturbed.

The ruling means Ingram’s convictions on three sex offense counts and that sentence remain in effect, while the trial court must resentence him on the remaining 12 counts of statutory sexual offense with a child by an adult.