June trial set for Wilmington voter with felony child porn conviction

A federal judge has scheduled arraignment and trial for June 9 in the case of a Wilmington man indicted on charges that he voted despite having a felony child pornography conviction.

James Osborne’s case attracted attention when media outlets revealed that he lived with New Hanover County school board candidate Rick Southerland. Southerland eventually dropped out of the school board race.

US Magistrate Judge Kimberly Swank issued an order Thursday setting the June 9 arraignment and trial before Chief US District Judge Richard Myers.

Pretrial motions are due May 18, according to Swank’s order. A plea agreement or motion to continue the arraignment and trial would be due five business days before the June 9 trial date.

A grand jury indicted Osborne on three counts related to illegal voting by a felon in November 2024, November 2025, and February. The indictment was dated April 14 and filed on April 16. Osborne was granted pretrial release from custody on April 16.

The FBI arrested Osborne based on a criminal complaint signed on March 23 by US Magistrate Judge Robert Jones, according to a March 30 news release from the US Attorney Ellis Boyle’s office.

Osborne faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each charge if convicted, according to the news release.

“This case is an example of the FBI’s commitment to election security and serves as a warning that we will arrest and prosecute anyone who illegally participates in our democratic process,” said Reid Davis, FBI special agent in charge in North Carolina, in the news release.

Osborne was found guilty of possession of child pornography in a Virginia federal court in April 2021, according to the criminal complaint. He was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release.

His supervised release moved from Virginia to North Carolina in December 2023, according to the complaint. His supervised release was scheduled to remain in place from January 2023 through January 2038.

Osborne voted in the November 2024 election at the Belville Elementary School polling site in Leland, according to the complaint. “As a result, OSBORNE knowingly and willfully deprived, defrauded, or attempted to deprive or defraud the residents of the State of North Carolina of a fair and impartially conducted election process by casting a ballot that was known by OSBORNE to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State of North Carolina, in violation of 52 U.S.C. § 20511(2)(B).”

Osborne later registered to vote in New Hanover County in November 2025 and cast an early-voting ballot there in February 2026, according to the complaint.

“Based upon the information provided above, there is probable cause to believe that on or about November 5, 2024, November 4, 2025, and February 25, 2026, in the Eastern District of North Carolina, JAMES OSBORNE committed, among other numerous offenses, False Statements on Voter Registration or Ballot, in violation of Title 52, United States Code, Section 20511(2)(A), and Title 52, United States Code, Section 20511(2)(B),” according to the complaint from FBI Special Agent Julia Hanish.

“June trial set for Wilmington voter with felony child porn conviction” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.