Sacramento Businessman Sentenced To Decades In Prison After Preying On Children
If one special agent with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) could feel the symbolic hugs from parents all around the world, it would be the special agent in DOJ’s eCrimes unit who conducted the forensics on a sexual predator’s computer and provided expert testimony in the trial of businessman James E. Johnston, 71, of Sacramento.
Johnston was sentenced this week to 24 years and five months in prison for child pornography and sex tourism. Johnston was convicted in May after a trial that included testimony of child porn, some of which showed scenes of infants and toddlers being sexually molested. Evidence presented also showed Johnston traveled to other countries to hook up with small children.
“Going once is bad enough; going two, three, 10 times…takes it to a whole new level,” said Chief United States District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. during sentencing.
“The federal government turned to our special agent for computer forensic assistance, ” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. CSLEA represents 7,000 state public safety and consumer protection professionals, including DOJ special agents. “After reading the United States Attorney’s Office press release on this guy, what parent wouldn’t want to shake this special agent’s hand and say thank you? The forensic work unveiled every photo, every video and every email that was connected to this sick crime against innocent, vulnerable children.”
