A 28-year-old individual has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the sexual abuse of an 11-year-old boy over a period exceeding three years from 2013 to 2018.
Jeremy Johnson was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child by a Lubbock County jury on Feb. 8 in the 140th District Court. The offense carries a penalty ranging from 25 years to life imprisonment without parole.
Despite being out on bond since August 2018, Johnson chose to have his sentence determined by District Judge Douglas Freitag and attended a sentencing hearing on Thursday.
The investigation into the abuse commenced in 2017 when the victim, then 14 years old and residing in Oklahoma, reported experiencing pain during urination to his mother.
Initially, the victim’s mother suspected a bladder infection, but upon medical examination, it was revealed that he had contracted gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease.
Reluctant at first, the victim eventually disclosed that Johnson had been sexually abusing him since he was 11 years old during visits to family in Lubbock.
The victim’s mother expressed her feelings of failure and regret, recounting how she initially reported the abuse to authorities in Oklahoma, only for the case to be taken over by detectives in Lubbock where the incidents occurred.
An indictment against Johnson detailed six instances of sexual abuse, including four charges of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact.
The victim, now 23, testified to multiple instances of abuse perpetrated by Johnson, including coercion with pornography, threats, physical violence, and unfulfilled promises.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence of the victim’s injuries consistent with sexual assault, while Johnson’s defense highlighted medical records indicating his negative test results for gonorrhea shortly after the victim’s symptoms emerged.
Following deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict after an hour, supported by a jail phone call where Johnson made threatening remarks to state officials post-conviction.
Prosecutors emphasized the discrepancy between Johnson’s public image as portrayed by his acquaintances and the true nature revealed in the phone call, advocating for the severity of the sentence due to the egregious nature of the crimes committed against a vulnerable victim.
The District Attorney’s office reiterated its commitment to prioritizing cases involving such cowardly acts against the community’s most defenseless members.