New York man who sexually abused Oregon child he met on video game sentenced

( Post Millennial )

An Oregon judge has sentenced a New York man to federal prison and probation after he traveled to southern Oregon to sexually abuse a child he met on an online video game in 2021. Brent Johnson Jr., 26, of Port Jefferson Station, NY, was taken into custody on Thursday to serve a 15-year federal prison sentence followed by a life term of supervised release, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon.

Johnson pleaded guilty on June 26 to sexually exploiting a child and distributing child pornography over the 2021 incident.

Court documents stated that Johnson contacted the child through the online multiplayer video game "Among Us" in August 2021. He exchanged phone numbers with the victim and started communicating with the minor through text messages and phone calls. Despite knowing the victim's age, prosecutors said Johnson traveled from New York to Rogue River, Oregon, near Medford, to sexually abuse the child several times at a local hotel in December 2021. He also filmed the sexual abuse and distributed the child pornography.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said Johnson sent a screenshot from one of the sex abuse videos he had captured to a family member of the victim in February 2022, which sparked the investigation. Johnson was apprehended by police in Bayport, New York on March 23, 2022, following a multi-state agency effort between the Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET), the Rogue River Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Long Island.

A federal grand jury in Medford returned a three-count indictment on May 5, 2022, charging Johnson with sexually exploiting a child, distributing child pornography, and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

The case was prosecuted by Judith R. Harper, Assistant US Attorney for the District of Oregon.