The long arm of the law caught up with Joseph L. Johnson on Thursday, as he headed to state prison after entering a plea in two cases resulting from what police said was his indecent conduct with two teenage girls.
Johnson, 40, of Pottsville, pleaded no contest to two counts each of corruption of minors, indecent assault and indecent exposure, with prosecutors withdrawing 10 other sex-related charges.
Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin accepted the plea and, pursuant to an agreement between prosecutors and Johnson, sentenced the defendant to spend five to 12 years in a state correctional institution, plus an additional eight years on probation.
Dolbin also sentenced Johnson to pay costs and $100 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account, have no contact with his victims, submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities and undergo an evaluation by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to help determine whether he is a sexually violent predator.
"The plea agreement was reached with consultation and full consent of the victims and the families," Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Lehman said.
Lehman said the victims were 13 and 16 years old at the time Johnson assaulted them.
By pleading no contest, Johnson did not admit committing the crimes but offered no defense to them, agreed prosecutors had enough evidence to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and agreed to be sentenced as if he had pleaded or been found guilty.
Minersville police filed both sets of charges against Johnson, who formerly lived in that borough.
In one case, police said Johnson assaulted the 13-year-old girl on June 19, 2011, at his residence.
Police said Johnson gave the girl a pill that caused her to pass out and left her unable to move. After that, Johnson inappropriately touched her, police said.
In the other case, police said Johnson assaulted the 16-year-old girl from Jan. 1, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2012, at his residence and a home in Duncott.
Each of the girls testified at Johnson's 90-minute preliminary hearing on Oct. 15, 2013.
Police said they became aware of the incidents in June 2013.
Johnson left Schuylkill County after the incidents but was captured on Aug. 26, 2013, in Georgia by the U.S. Marshals Service. He was brought back to Schuylkill County on a prisoner bus.Defendant: Joseph L. Johnson
Age: 40
Residence: Pottsville, formerly of Minersville
Plea: No contest plea to two counts each of corruption of minors, indecent assault and indecent exposure
Prison sentence: Five to 12 years in a state correctional institution, plus an additional eight years on probation