Political party Democratic Succeeded by Bill Rabon Party Democratic Party | Name R. Soles, Occupation Attorney | |
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Born December 17, 1934 (age 89)
Tabor City, North Carolina ( 1934-12-17 ) Alma mater Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina Law School Residence Tabor City, North Carolina, United States Education Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina School of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | ||
Robert Charles Soles Jr. (born 1934) was a Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate, representing the 8th district from 1977 to 2011. His district included Brunswick, Columbus and Pender counties. From 1969 to 1976, Soles served in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Republican Bill Rabon now holds the seat that Soles held for over three decades; it had not been held by a Republican since 1869.
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Soles was the chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Career
He is a practicing attorney at Soles, Phipps, Ray, and Prince Law Firm. In 2006, the N.C. Bar Association inducted him into the General Practice Hall of Fame. At one point, the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research named him the 8th most effective member of the legislature.
Soles is the founding president of the Southeastern Community College Foundation, a former member of the Governor's Crime Commission, and former board member of the Columbus County Community Foundation and Opera Company of North Carolina.
Soles graduated with a B.A. from Wake Forest University and received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has never married.
1980s criminal investigations
Soles was indicted in 1983 for conspiracy, vote buying, perjury, and aiding and abetting bribery. A judge dismissed three of the charges and Soles was acquitted of aiding and abetting Columbus County Commissioner Edward Walton Williamson in obtaining payoffs from undercover FBI agents.
Assault conviction
On December 30, 2009, Soles (at the time, the longest-serving legislator in the state) announced he would not seek re-election in 2010. This came after an August, 2009 incident in which he shot a young man and former legal client in the leg who was allegedly trying to kick in Soles' front door. In another incident, Soles pepper sprayed a young man. Soles' lawyer, Joseph Cheshire, said the shooting was self-defense. Cheshire and Soles have said that Soles has been generous to former clients in hoping to ease them back to a law-abiding life. Soles has denied having sexual relations with any of the young men. Soles was indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury on 7 January 2010. Soles pleaded guilty in 2010 to assault with a deadly weapon and was fined $1,000.
Sexual abuse allegations
In 2009 allegations from several men were published claiming that Soles sexually abused them when they were minors.
The allegations resurfaced in June 2011, with three men having publicly accused Soles of sexual abuse.