The eighth time a trial date was set, a Brazos County district court jury on February 8 convicted 59 year old Derrick Maurice Johnson and handed down the maximum sentence of 20 years and a $10,000 dollar fine.
Prosecutors say the victim and two relatives testified about being attacked by Johnson in Bryan, Navasota, and San Antonio. All three told the jury they were afraid to tell anyone because they feared they would not be believed and that would get in trouble.
Johnson, who was arrested shortly after the victim contacted Bryan police in 2018, had been living east of Dallas.
Eight trial dates had been set, dating back to August of 2019.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
Derrick Johnson, 59, was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 20 years and a $10,000 fine by a Brazos County jury today (February 8, 2024) after the same jury convicted him of Sexual Assault of a Child on Wednesday. The jury reached their verdict on punishment after just 30 minutes of deliberations.
Johnson was arrested in June 2018 after the Bryan Police Department received a report that Johnson had sexually abused his niece. The victim, who was 34 at the time, report-ed to police that she had been abused by Johnson until she was 16 or 17 years old. Only some of the incidents had occurred in Brazos County, with other acts of abuse occurring in San Antonio and Navasota.
During the investigation, detectives interviewed two more relatives of Johnson, who were 37 and 38 years old. Those women also told detectives that they had been sexually abused by Johnson. That abuse took place in the Dallas area and San Antonio area.
All three of the victims said they were afraid to tell anyone about the abuse because they were afraid they would not be believed and were afraid that they might get in trouble.
During trial, all three women testified about the abuse they suffered at the hands of Johnson. The jury also heard from two experts at Scotty’s House who provided information to the jury about child abuse disclosure and the response that victims of trauma may show.
Statement from Brazos County assistant district attorneys Kara Comte and Barrack Potter: “When a child abuse survivor discloses years of abuse, even as an adult, they deserve to receive justice. The ju-ry in this case finally gave three survivors the justice and closure they have been seeking for so long.”