Tag: indecent behavior with a juvenile

Former teacher’s aide Lance Johnson gets 25-year prison sentence for sexually pursuing a teen student

A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday (Nov. 14) sentenced former teacher’s assistant Lance Johnson to 25 years in prison for his conviction of repeatedly sexually propositioning a 14-year-old student at the public school where he was employed.

A jury on Oct. 30 deliberated about one-half hour in finding Johnson, 42, guilty as charged of indecent behavior with a juvenile and soliciting for prostitution involving someone under age 18.

The juvenile was not one of Johnson’s students, although they were at the same east bank public school. Johnson began making sexual advances toward the juvenile on school grounds in June 2022. His behavior escalated to offering the juvenile $80 in cash in exchange for a sexual act and meetings off school grounds.

Click here to read about the trial.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the victim’s mother said in impact testimony that Johnson is “a very sick person for putting us through this. You know you were guilty from the jump. Why make us suffer through the pain and anxiety.”

The victim’s older sister testified that her sibling is “traumatized.”

Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court told Johnson that during pretrial proceedings, she was only aware of barebone facts associated with his behavior. It wasn’t until trial that she learned that Johnson followed the juvenile around school grounds and even drove to the juvenile’s home.

“I did not know the extent by which you pursued this child, and that gives me great pause to give you the minimum sentence in this case,” Judge Miller told him.

She sentenced Johnson to 25 years for solicitation for prostitution and seven years for indecent behavior with a juvenile. She ran the sentences concurrently and ordered Johnson to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

Assistant District Attorneys Leo Aaron and Molly Love prosecuted the case.

Former public school teacher assistant Lance Johnson convicted of indecent behavior with juvenile student

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated 30 minutes on Wednesday evening (Oct. 30) in finding Lance Johnson, a former public school teacher’s assistant, guilty of repeatedly sexually propositioning a 14-year-old student.

Johnson, 42, of LaPlace, was convicted as charged of indecent behavior with a juvenile and soliciting for prostitution involving someone under age 18. Although the perpetrator and victim were at the same east bank school, the juvenile was never one of Johnson’s students.

Johnson made numerous sexual advances toward the juvenile while on school grounds, beginning in June 2022, and later offered to pay the student $80 in exchange for a sexual act. At one point, Johnson drove to the student’s home.

The student disclosed Johnson’s behavior to another teacher, who in turn alerted the student’s mother. In September 2022, she reported it to the Jefferson Parish Public Schools System, which suspended Johnson pending the investigation, and to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives obtained evidence that included residential surveillance video footage showing Johnson’s off-campus encounters with the student. Separately, the doorbell camera at the student’s home also recorded Johnson driving up and speaking with the juvenile in the street.

Detectives used Johnson’s cell phone records to corroborate the videos, showing his location when he encountered the student off-campus and at the student’s home.

The jury that was seated on Tuesday and heard one day of testimony returned with its guilty verdicts at about 6:10 p.m., Wednesday.

Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Johnson next Wednesday (Nov. 6).

Assistant District Attorneys Leo Aaron and Molly Love prosecuted the case.