MOTHER GUILTY OF AIDING RAPE OF CHILD

Julia Johnson Sentenced to Life in Prison Plus 21 Years

Atlanta- Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announces the successful prosecution of 39-year-old Julia Johnson, charged in the rape of her 11-year old daughter by her live-in boyfriend. A Fulton County jury of five men and eight women found Johnson guilty today of being party to a crime of rape, cruelty to children in the first degree and contributing to the deprivation of a minor. Superior Court Judge Constance Russell sentenced Johnson to life in prison plus 20 years plus 12 months.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Lee Young-Williams introduced evidence during the trial that the boyfriend, 36-year-old Trianthony Cannon, raped Johnson’s daughter at least 50-times and that Johnson knew about it. There was evidence Johnson pleaded to have Cannon released from jail after he had been arrested for molesting the little girl. On June 11th, Judge Russell sentenced Cannon to life in prison plus 80 years after he pleaded guilty to rape, child molestation and aggravated assault in the case.

The little girl, now 12-years-old, gave birth to a baby boy last month. DNA tests proved conclusively Cannon is the father. The little girl and her brother are in foster care. The baby has been put up for adoption.

District Attorney Howard calls the case the “most egregious case of child sex abuse” he has encountered in all his years as a prosecutor. “It is a mother’s duty to protect her children”, he said, “and in Julia Johnson’s case, she failed criminally.” That is why he explained, “this office vigorously prosecuted this defendant and sought the maximum penalty under the law for these crimes.”

CONTACT: Lyn Vaughn, 404-224-0560 (office); 404-533-1381 (pager)