Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Lowcountry man sentenced to 20 years for child sexual abuse material

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that on July 12, 2023, after a three-day trial, a Dorchester County jury found John B. Johnson, 42, guilty of 17 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Third Degree. The Honorable Diane Goodstein sentenced Johnson to the maximum 10 years on all counts, and he will have to register as a sex offender upon his release. The Court structured the sentence in a way that resulted in a 20-year active-time sentence.

The investigation into Johnson began in 2020 when an electronic service provider contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in reference to a user placing child sexual abuse material on its platform. The source of the material was determined to be Johnson’s home in Dorchester County. On May 28, 2020, members of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant on the home. Johnson admitted to being the source of the child sexual abuse material but claimed it was unintentional. A forensic examination located additional files of child sexual abuse material on an electronic device in the home that was shown to be used by Johnson.

During the trial law enforcement officers from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Homeland Security, Summerville Police, and North Charleston Police testified on behalf of the state.   

Assistant Attorney General Stephan Ryan prosecuted the case for the state and Assistant Attorney General Bethan Miles was co-counsel. Johnson was represented by 9th Circuit Public Defender Cameron Blazer.