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Former Johnston County Lawman Faces Child Sex Charges

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JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. — Police officers are supposed to be people you can trust. But for one young girl, that trust is gone. A former officer is now charged with molesting her

Ashley Snead has a law enforcement background. That's why the mother of the girl said what Snead allegedly did to her daughter seems so unreal.

"It makes you sick to your stomach," said the woman. "They should know more than your average everyday people to do right from wrong."

The Johnston County Sheriff's Office has charged Snead, 32, with indecent liberties and first-degree sexual offense involving the woman's 12-year-old daughter. Investigators say the incidents happened on three occasions at Snead's home in Four Oaks.

Authorities say the first incident happened last summer. Snead was a close family friend, and the young girl was at his home for sleepovers with his daughter.

"Her little heart has held onto this since then," said her mother.

Until last week, he was a reserve officer for the Four Oaks Police Department. He has resigned.

In 1996, he worked for four months as a deputy at the Johnston County Sheriff's Office. Snead spent most of his law enforcement career here at the Benson Police Department, where he was on the force from May 1997 to January 2001.

Snead is out of jail on a $220,000 bond. WRAL was unable to reach him for comment. His attorney also had no comment.

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