Charles City man convicted for having indecent liberties with minors

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A Charles City man who lured two minors away from their home for a brief period in time and had nonconsensual acts has been found guilty on four charges connected to the incident following a contested trial.

David Brackett, 57, was found guilty of two counts of having indecent liberties with a minor and two counts of having indecent acts with a minor as a custodian and/or guardian at the time of the incident following Tuesday afternoon proceedings in Charles City Circuit Court.

On June 28, Brackett invited the two victims to leave the house to go outside and make a tent. The two victims agreed, getting in Brackett’s truck and traveling approximately 150 feet to an area just out of view from the victims’ family members.

At that point, the victims’ stories summarized the incident, which each experiencing advances from the defendant.

“I was asked by [victim two] to ride along,” said victim one. “I sat in the backseat of the truck for the one- or two-minute ride.”

But after that ride had ended, both victims sat in the truck for nearly 15 minutes as they described Brackett’s advances.

“He said, ‘I am going to [explicit] y’all’,” victim one testified. “After that, I froze up. I couldn’t do anything.”

Victim one continued, saying that the defendant explicitly spoke about what he wanted to do to the duo. Both victims testified that Brackett also played music with sexually suggestive lyrics about acts he wanted to experience with the victims.

When victim one was able to climb out the truck, they sat on the roof to try and avoid Brackett. But the defendant’s advances continued.

“He came over and kissed my knee first and then my hamstring,” victim one said. “There, he caressed my thigh, and I froze up again.”

Brackett’s action with victim two mirrored the same as victim one but became more intimidating and hands-on.

“He spoke to me about what he would do to us if he was our age,” victim two said. “He started to kiss my neck and grab my thighs.

“He also said how he wanted to (explicit action),” victim two added.

While the day was over, the actions by Brackett continued the following morning. When victim two woke up, Brackett was laying beside them in the bed.

“He woke up with his head against mine,” said victim two. “That is when he kissed me on the lips and I froze up.”

At that point, victim two told victim one that they needed to tell somebody about the incident. Later that day, a Charles City deputy came to the residence and interviewed both the victims and Brackett. Video footage of the deputy’s interaction with Brackett showed the defendant being questioned about his alleged actions.

“I may have said some stuff that I shouldn’t have,” Brackett said in the video. “But I was just playing with them.”

But when the deputy questioned Brackett about his comments of molestation was and the definition of it, the defendant changed his answer every time, something that was pointed out by Charles City Commonwealth’s Attorney Tyler Klink.

“This defendant was asked about what he thought molestation was,” Klink said. “The testimony by the victims and his actions meet all the definitions that are in these case laws.”

While the defendant elected not to testify on his behalf and attempt for the case to be dismissed by defense counsel failed, it was ultimately the decision of Judge Joshua DeFord who rendered guilty verdicts on all four charges lodged against Brackett.

A presentence report is being prepared as Brackett is scheduled to be sentenced on Mar. 4, 2025. The maximum amount of years he may serve after being convicted on all four charges is 30 years in prison.