ASHEVILLE — Prominent Catawba County lawyer Daniel Ray Green, 64, has been charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors after police say he committed a first-degree statutory sexual offense against a child in South Asheville.

Green was taken into custody in the early morning hours of March 31, soon after he allegedly engaged in a felony sex act with a 14-year-old at the Baymont Inn on Hendersonville Road, according to Christina Hallingse, spokeswoman for Asheville Police Department. Hallingse confirmed the child was "known to the suspect prior to the incident."

Arrest records indicate Green's other felony charge is for disseminating obscene material to a minor by watching pornography with the child. Green was also cited for giving alcohol to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, both of which are misdemeanors, according to warrants.

Green couldn't be reached for comment on April 1.

Career as lawyer, NC District Court judge

Green was honored with the North Carolina Bar Association's Citizen Lawyer of the Year Award in 2018, in which he was praised for his "devotion to his community" and religious activities.

Green, who now operates a private practice in Hickory, served as a NC Superior Court judge for seven months in 2002, according to his personal website. He sat as a District Court judge, overseeing the 25th Judicial District — Catawba, Burke and Caldwell counties — from 1984-86.

Green served as the chair of the Catawba County Democrats for four years, according to the NC Bar's award announcement.

Green graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College and obtained his law degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 1979. He was partner in the firm Gorham, Crone, Green & Steele for nine years before returning to private practice in 2017.

A man of the community

Green is an active member of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Hickory, where he serves as an acolyte master and choir member, according to his website, as well as a former Warden of the Vestry.

He is president of the board of directors for the Western Piedmont Symphony and a member of the Hickory Sunrise Rotary Club. Green also has been praised for his work with AFS Intercultural Program, through which he has been "hosting foreign exchange students since 1991," according to his website.

Bail was set at $75,000, and he is not listed as an in custody with the Buncombe County Detention Center. Green is scheduled to appear in court on April 22.