Father-of-three who raped 12-year-old girl after tying her to tree while dressed in camouflage suit sentenced to 28 years
A father-of-three who abducted, tortured, and raped a 12-year-old girl while he was dressed in a camouflage outfit has been sentenced to close to three decades in prison.
Troy Stephen Johnson, 33, grabbed the victim on the morning of May 15, 2017, as she was on her way to school in Narara, New South Wales Central Coast in Australia, after tracking the girl for a number of weeks and even taking photos of her walking along the same path each morning, according to the Daily Mail.
Johnson, who was reportedly wearing a "Ghillie suit" when he ambushed the girl, put her in a headlock, and dragged her to a clearing where he tied her to a tree with cable ties even as she yelled, "stop, stop, stop."
He went on to sexually assault her for the next hour, during which time the victim, despite going through unimaginable trauma, managed to take mental notes about his appearance that would prove crucial in tracking him down. After she was cut loose, she ran to her school crying and told of the incident to a friend's mother, following which the police were alerted. Investigators soon linked the crime to Johnson due to a combination of evidence and his lack of an alibi.
For one, a highway patrol vehicle captured a Ford Escape being driven by the 33-year-old just 1.5 km away from the scene, just four minutes after the call was made to police about the assault, with cell phone tower data also placing him in the vicinity of the attack.
Authorities also found that he had searched for adult videos on several websites at the time the girl was being held captive and that he had spoken to a friend about a fantasy where he wanted to "rape someone." In the hours after the attack, he also called the friend and bragged that he will "never guess what I just did."
Johnson was arrested in June 2017 for that assault, as well as for three other charges relating to grooming and sexual abuse of another 11-year-old girl.
He pleaded guilty to a total of 10 charges this past week and was sentenced to 28 years behind bars in Gosford District Court, with Judge David Wilson describing him as "truly evil" telling him that "society has no place for a person like you."
He will have to serve at least 21 years before he is eligible for parole.