Pedophile who sexually abused teen arrested after his wife found messages on his phone and informed cops
A man who was accused of grooming a 13-year-old girl before he raped her repeatedly has been sentenced to more than five years behind bars.
39-year-old Mark Johnson from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, was also served an indefinite court order that will prevent him from posing a threat to any other children. Johnson appeared at the Teesside Crown Court and pleaded guilty to the three counts of sexual assault of a child that he was charged with on January 25.
The Daily Mail reported that Johnson groomed the young girl when she was 12 and then began a sexual relationship with her when she turned 13.
Police were informed about the abuse in September 2018 when Johnson's estranged wife found incriminating messages on his phone that suggested he was abusing the child at the time.
The furious woman then confronted Johnson about the messages and threatened to expose him in front of the authorities. Flustered, he immediately deleted everything on the cell phone and then went to a local phone store to try and exchange the device for a new one to cover his tracks.
Johnson was arrested by the police and then during his interview, he presented the detectives with a statement he had ready beforehand in which he denied everything about assaulting the child or exchanging messages with her. He finally told the detectives that the girl had been the one who was obsessed with him. Johnson was charged then and then remanded into custody.
The North Yorkshire Police's Digital Forensic Unit and Force Intelligence analyst took a look at the phone and were able to find enough evidence against Johnson in the form of messages which confirmed their suspicions that Johnson had repeatedly raped the teen. The man proceeded to enter an early guilty plea when his case went to court. Johnson was sentenced to five years and three months in jail as well as a court order for indefinite sexual harm-prevention.
The terms of the court order mean that he will have to tell the authorities where he is when it comes to holidays or moving houses, and if he ever stays in a house where children reside as well. Johnson will also be made to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life. Speaking at a press conference after the trial, Detective Constable Jason Roper of North Yorkshire Police, said: "Mark Johnson is an arrogant predator who tried to claim that a girl whom he had groomed was lying and was obsessed with him."
He continued: "I welcome the sentence which the court has imposed upon him and I hope that this brings some closure to the victim. I would like to thank the amazing courage which the victim has shown throughout these proceedings. This has been an extremely difficult time for her. I sincerely hope that with time and continuous support from our partner agencies and her family she is able to rebuild her life."