20-YEAR SENTENCE FOR CHILD PREDATOR WHO PIMPED 14-YEAR OLD SANDY SPRINGS GIRL

State vs. Johnathan Terry

Atlanta- 27-year old Johnathan Terry, a Miami man set to stand trial in Fulton County this week for a myriad of sex offenses involving a child, has pled guilty to the crimes against him. Shortly after a jury was seated in the case, Terry pled guilty to child molestation, statutory rape, pimping, pandering, enticing a child for indecent purposes and felony reckless conduct.

The victim, a 14-year-old from Sandy Springs, met the defendant, known to her as “Marcellus Wallace” at Underground Atlanta in December of 2008. Soon after, the defendant (25-years old at the time) began having sex with the underage girl. A month later, Terry manipulated the victim into engaging in acts of prostitution with numerous men throughout Fulton and Dekalb Counties. On January 29, 2009, the victim and another 14-year old girl ran away from school and met the defendant. Terry took the two girls to a Chamblee apartment complex where he pimped them to several unidentified men--later taking most of the money they earned. Chamblee Police Officers who received a tip about the young girls hanging out at a nearby hotel picked the victims up after realizing they were runaways. The Defendant, however, saw the police approaching and fled before being identified. The girls did not disclose details of the incident until May of 2009.

After learning that Defendant Terry had a MySpace account, officers with the Sandy Springs and Atlanta Police Departments coaxed the defendant back to Downtown Atlanta using a -year old “decoy” posing as a 16-year old girl. Terry was arrested on May 26, 2009 after traveling downtown to meet the “teenager”. Authorities later discovered the defendant is HIV positive. The victim, fortunately has repeatedly tested negative for the disease over the past year.

Following his guilty plea, Johnathan Terry was sentenced to 20-years in prison by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk. In addition to his prison term, Terry must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring and Senior ADA Cheveda McCamy of the Crimes Against Women and Children Unit. DA Investigator Cindy Williamson and Investigator Jeffrey Thomas of the Sandy Springs Police Department conducted the criminal investigation.

Media Contact: Yvette Brown, 404-224-0560/404-392-8867, yvette.brown@fultoncountyga.gov