Photos for Headline Surfer / Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said at a press conference in February after the arrest of Justin Dwayne Johnson, Sr., 47, on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of children under his care that there was "no place in Hell that would accept him."
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A former foster parent from Sanford accused of producing videos of children being sexually exploited pleaded guilty Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, and faces upwards of 30 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in October.
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced Justin Dwayne Johnson, Sr., 47, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court 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 a maximum of 30 years, in federal prison on each of the five production counts, and up to 20 years on the possession count when he is formally sentenced on Oct. 12, 2022. Johnson had been indicted by a federal grand jury on March 23.
According to the plea agreement, in January 2022, an investigation was initiated against Johnson after Child Protection Services was alerted that he was secretly video-recording foster children to whom he had access. This led to his arrest in February by Sanford cops before the grand jury acted less than a month later.
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.
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith was visibly angry at a press conference earlier this year following Johnson's arrest, during which he said he had a difficult time reviewing more than 1,000 videos of children sexually exploited under Johnson's care.
"It angers me to think that there's no place in Hell that would accept this individual for the stuff that he has done to children -- innocent, unable to defend themselves," Smith said.
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith was visibly angry at a press conference earlier this year following Johnson's arrest, during which he said he had a difficult time reviewing more than 1,000 videos of children sexually exploited under Johnson's care. "It angers me to think that there's no place in Hell that would accept this individual for the stuff that he has done to children -- innocent, unable to defend themselves," Smith said.
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 the 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.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: