Columbus County man pleads guilty in child sex assault

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A man arrested on child sex assault charges pleaded guilty in Columbus County court on Friday.

According to a news release from the district attorney’s office, James Brandon Godwin, 33, pleaded guilty to Sexual Offense with a Child.

The judge sentenced Godwin to between nearly 14 and 21 years in the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

Godwin must also register as a sex offender for life.

On November 8, 2015, Columbus County Sheriff’s Department investigated the report of a sex act between the defendant and minor child.

At sentencing the child’s mother recounted the emotional pain and betrayal these acts caused her child. She told the Court how the defendant was a trusted adult in the home at the time of the crime.