Sanford Foster Parent Pleads Guilty To Child Sexual Exploitation Offenses

Orlando, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Justin Dwayne Johnson, Sr. (47, Sanford) has pleaded guilty to five counts of producing and attempting to produce videos depicting children being sexually exploited and one count of possessing child sexual abuse materials. Johnson faces a minimum of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison on each of the five production counts, and up to 20 years in federal prison for the possession count. A sentencing date has been set for October 12, 2022. Johnson had been indicted on March 23, 2022.

According to the plea agreement, in January 2022, an investigation was initiated into Johnson after Child Protection Services was alerted that Johnson was secretly video-recording foster children to whom he had access. Johnson disclosed to an acquaintance that he had cameras in a particular residence to record the children in the nude and that he had videos on his cellphone and computer that depicted him molesting the children. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized several devices belonging to Johnson. The forensic examinations of Johnson’s cellphone and other electronic devices revealed numerous images and videos depicting children being sexually abused. Specifically, the evidence showed that Johnson used the children under his care to produce depictions of sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, Johnson’s cellphone contained numerous videos and images depicting other young children being sexually abused. To date, the FBI has identified at least 16 child victims that were sexually exploited by Johnson.

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Sanford Police Department and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Courtney Richardson-Jones and Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

Any person who was a victim, or has knowledge of someone who may have been a victim, is urged to contact FBI at 1-800-225-5324 or https://tips.fbi.gov.  

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.