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A 66-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole for sexually abusing children. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced the sentence, emphasizing the severity of the crimes committed. Ogg stated, "This man repeatedly abused and victimized children without a second thought to the pain and damage he was inflicting. It seems clear that justice demands that he spend the rest of his life in prison."
The offender, Sherman Lee Johnson, pleaded guilty to continuous sexual abuse of a child for assaulting a young girl starting in 2009 until 2020 when the girl alerted authorities. The case was investigated by the Harris County Sheriff's Office, which subsequently arrested Johnson. It was revealed that Johnson had a prior history of sexual offenses, having been first convicted of rape in 1977.
Johnson had established a relationship of trust with the victim's family, using his position as an older man to exploit and victimize the young girl and potentially others. Assistant District Attorneys Tim Goodwin and Jarell Gibson, assigned to the DA's Crimes Against Children Division, prosecuted the case. Goodwin emphasized the importance of vigilance among parents and families, stating, "Parents and families have to stay ever vigilant about who they can trust because there are predators like this who hide among us in plain sight."
The sentence handed down to Johnson ensures that he will serve every day of his 25-year term without the possibility of parole. This outcome is seen as a just result for the heinous crimes committed against innocent children.