Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson’s boyfriend has a troubling past. Thompson, 16, confirmed in September 2021 that she had been dating Dralin Carswell, 21, since January. The two initially faced backlash from fans due to their age difference, and now new information about Thompson’s partner has cast another shadow over the relationship.
On May 29, 2019, Carswell was arrested and accused of statutory rape, according to police and court documents obtained by The Sun. This case does not involve Thompson, and it appears that the incident occurred before they began dating.
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In the police report, the alleged victim’s mother claimed that Carswell, who was 18 then, climbed through her daughter’s window and had sex with the minor, who was 15 at the time. The minor told the officer in the report that “her plan with Carswell was for him to come to the house and while there they had consensual unprotected sex in her bedroom.”
The minor, Carswell allegedly told police, “was his girlfriend and they had talked about him coming to her house… but he did not actually go to the house.”He told investigators he was dropped off at the minor’s home by two friends and picked up over an hour later. They reported to the police that Carswell “was scared and told them to drive fast” because the minor’s “mama caught him inside the house.”
Carswell was initially charged with statutory rape but ultimately completed a pretrial diversion program, and his false statement claim was dismissed. At the pretrial diversion hearing in June 2021, the assistant district attorney said he “was charged with statutory rape, misdemeanor grade,” but “Based on the evidence, we could prove making a false statement.”
According to the ADA, a pretrial diversion was recommended as Carswell had represented himself and was in trouble for the first time. The attorney had also spoken with the mother of the 15-year-old, who agreed with the recommendation that he complete pretrial status and then have his case dismissed.
Among his requirements was to perform 20 hours of community service, have no contact with [the minor, and attend and complete the moral recognition class program through probation with Judicial Alternatives of Georgia. After Carswell completed all the requirements, the case was dismissed on Dec. 13, 2021.
A source told The Sun that Carswell attended a Nashville technical school before the pandemic began but now lives near Thompson and her older sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, 22, who is her legal guardian. Thompson revealed to Teen Vogue a month before going Instagram official with Carswell that she didn’t have any friends but had a special someone in her life.
“To be honest, I do not have many friends. At all,” the reality star told the publication, “Because I feel like folks are so much like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m friends with Honey Boo Boo.’” She added, “I don’t trust nobody really, so I don’t have friends.”
Thompson and Carswell are currently still dating with her mother “Mama June’s” approval. Mama June addressed the controversy surrounding the pair in a May interview with Too Fab, saying that she believed critics were being close-minded.
“Yes, I’ve met Dralin, they’ve been together for over a year,” Mama June said. “People need to realize that she’s going to be 17 in August and that [Alana’s older sister] Pumpkin and Josh were the same age as they were.”
Sister Lauryn told The Sun in a June 21 interview,”Me and my husband love Dralin. He’s very respectful and treats Alana with the utmost respect,”adding,”He is around us and our kids a bunch also and we love him for Alana.”
