Level-2 Sex Offender Pleads Guilty To Possessing Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Chelsea man pleaded guilty today to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 

Lasall Johnson, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin who scheduled a sentencing for June 5, 2024. Johnson was charged by criminal complaint in March 2023 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2023.

Johnson was identified as a user in an online peer to peer file sharing network exchanging CSAM. During a search of Johnson’s residence, six electronic devices were seized from his bedroom. Forensic examination of the devices recovered hundreds of CSAM image and video files. 

In 1989, Johnson was convicted in Norfolk County Superior Court of two counts of assault to rape, for which he received a 20-year state prison sentence with two years committed and the balance suspended for 18 years. As a result of those convictions, Johnson is a Level-2 registered sex offender. 

Due to Johnson’s prior convictions, the charge of possession of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Chelsea Police Chief Keith Houghton made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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