Prosecutors oppose bond reduction for Lawrence man accused of child sex abuse

Douglas County prosecutors pushed back Tuesday against lowering the bond for Steven Lee Braswell, a 75-year-old Lawrence man accused of sexually abusing a child, as Judge Stacey Donovan weighed whether he should be released without posting money.

Braswell asked to be released on his own recognizance, often called an OR bond. That would have let him leave jail without paying the $50,000 cash or surety bond already set. Senior Assistant District Attorney Megan Ahsens opposed any reduction, telling the court the allegations involved serious felonies and that Braswell had confessed to the child’s father and to police.

Ahsens said the charges are punishable by life in prison and should not be treated as a minor or technical matter. The charging document accuses Braswell of aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated indecent liberties with a child. It says the child was born in 2010 and that the abuse occurred in 2016, years before it was reported.

Kansas law gives judges authority to release defendants before trial under K.S.A. 22-2802, but the statute says release conditions are meant to assure a defendant appears in court and to protect public safety. State law also classifies aggravated criminal sodomy under K.S.A. 21-5504 and aggravated indecent liberties with a child under K.S.A. 21-5506 as sex offenses. In Braswell’s case, prosecutors argued that those protections weighed against any easing of the bond already imposed.

Braswell’s attorney, Michael Clarke, argued the allegations were old and pointed to his client’s lack of a significant criminal record beyond a DUI decades ago. Clarke also cited Braswell’s age, health problems and living situation. Braswell testified that he has severe curvature of the spine, hip problems and a heart condition that led to a quadruple bypass in October. He told the court he has lived in the same Lawrence home for about 40 years and worried about how his 80-year-old wife would manage without him.

Donovan noted that she had already found Braswell eligible for a court-appointed attorney at his first appearance. Douglas County court calendars show the case on Donovan’s Division 6 docket, and the judge was expected to continue overseeing the matter as it moves forward. Braswell was arrested in the 400 block of Michigan Street in Lawrence before being charged, and the case first became public on May 11.