Greenfield Man Pleads Guilty to Enticing Two Teens for Illicit Sex

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Greenfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to attempting to entice two teenage victims to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Christopher L. Johnson, 37, of Greenfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to both counts of a Sept. 30, 2015, federal indictment.

According to today’s plea agreement, Johnson engaged in text messages and Facebook messages that were sexual in nature with two victims, both under the age of 17, identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2.  Johnson admitted to engaging in sexual contact with Jane Doe 1 at his residence.

Under federal statutes, Johnson is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI and the Dade County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was 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.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."