NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

MATT J. WHITWORTH

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

DECEMBER 16, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JURY CONVICTS PHYSICAL TRAINER OF SECRETLY

VIDEOTAPING FEMALE TEENS

FACES 15-YEAR MINIMUM PRISON SENTENCE FOR

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Matt J. Whitworth, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former physical trainer at St. John’s Hospital was convicted at trial today of sexually exploiting children by secretly videotaping minor females at the hospital’s training facility.

Scott Johnson, 30, of Springfield, Mo., was found guilty of eight counts of the sexual exploitation of a child. Johnson was taken into federal custody to await sentencing.

Johnson was a physical trainer at Healthtracks, a training facility operated by St. John’s. During the two-year period between Jan. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2007, Johnson created videos of two female victims, both of whom were minors. Johnson videotaped the female victims without their knowledge or consent.

Johnson was found guilty of seven counts of sexually exploiting children related to secretly videotaping one victim, and one count of the sexual exploitation of a child related to a second victim.

In October 2008, a staff member at Healthtracks noticed a video camera on Johnson’s desk. The video tape loaded in the camera contained videos of two females disrobing and weighing themselves. Johnson was immediately suspended and, eventually terminated from his employment at Healthtracks. Springfield police officers later found additional video cassettes, which Johnson had attempted to destroy, in his trash can at his residence.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Springfield deliberated less than an hour before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr, ending a trial that began Monday, Dec. 14, 2009.

Under federal statutes, Johnson is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole, for each of the eight counts. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James J. Kelleher and Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

****************

This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at