United States of America v. Joshua Johnson

Cedar Rapids, IA criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Child and Destruction of Evidence

Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to over 24 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Child and Destruction of Evidence

Joshua Johnson, age 50, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the sentence after an August 7, 2024, jury verdict finding him guilty of attempted sex trafficking of a child and destruction of evidence. The evidence at trial showed that, in December 2023, Johnson responded to an ad on a website for prostitution. He exchanged text messages with a person who stated that she was 13 years old; she actually was an undercover law enforcement officer. Johnson sent messages describing sex acts he could perform with the minor, and he traveled to Hiawatha, Iowa, to meet with her. After meeting with officers, Johnson wiped his cell phone.



Johnson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Johnson was sentenced to 292 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.



This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Hiawatha Police Department.



This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources.”