Brunswick County man pleads guilty to child sex offenses
BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — A Brunswick County judge sentenced a man to more than a decade in prison for certain sex offenses.
On Wednesday, October 9, Nicholas Drayton pled guilty to one count of statutory rape of a child under 15, three counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and two counts of second degree exploitation of a minor.
Drayton was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow to 190-288 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.
The charges came about after an ICAC (International Crimes against Children) tip that an email address associated with Drayton, uploaded files consistent with child abuse material to his account.Detective Britton with Leland Police Department obtained search warrants for Drayton’s email account, which provided copious amounts of data to include photo and video files of underage children performing sex acts. Warrants were drawn for Drayton’s arrest and for his cell phone, and upon arrest, Drayton admitted to a sexual relationship with an underage minor child.
As a result of this plea, Drayton could spend up to 24 years in prison. Additionally, Drayton will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.
