Former cop sentenced to prison despite victim’s request

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A former Shallotte police officer is heading to prison for a sex crime, but it’s not what his victim wanted.

A judge today sentenced Braxton Rushawn Strickland, 26, to a maximum of 9.5 years after pleading guilty to solicitation to commit statutory rape, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Strickland was an officer with the Shallotte Police Department when he engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with a female victim who was between 14 and 16 years old at the time.

Strickland has been in the New Hanover County Jail since he was arrested in October after a grand jury indicted him for six counts of statutory rape and three counts of indecent liberties with a minor.

The District Attorney’s Office says it consulted with the victim about the resolution of the case. The victim was present at the plea hearing and gave a victim impact statement. The DA’s office says she also asked the court to reconsider Strickland’s active sentence and not require him to serve jail time.

“Justice in any case is based upon the facts of that particular case,” Assistant District Attorney Jamie Turnage said in a news release. “In this case, we had a young victim who repeatedly asked not to be put through a trial. This result accomplishes a felony conviction, an active sentence, sex offender registration, satellite-based monitoring, the loss of (Strickland’s) law enforcement certification and a ruling that the defendant have no contact with the victim.”