[StBernard] Meraux man arrested after threatening to post sex tape of underage girlfriend

[Westley Annis]

Meraux man arrested after threatening to post sex tape of underage
girlfriend

Print By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on June 26, 2013 at 10:42 AM, updated June 26, 2013 at 1:10 PM

After an underage girlfriend who he'd met on Facebook threatened to break up
with him, a 21-year-old Meraux man allegedly threatened her back - with a
fictitious sex tape. John Johnson Jr. told the Violet girl that he'd post
the tape of them on the Internet if she ended the relationship, according to
the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office.

In later conversations with detectives, Johnson allegedly admitted that no
sex video actually existed. He simply had told the underage girl that to
scare her into staying with him.

In addition to being charged with extortion on Friday, Johnson was booked
with two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile after he admitted to
having had sex with the girl.

While the girl's exact age is not being disclosed because of concerns that
it might help identify the victim, the age of consent in Louisiana is 17
years old, so the victim was 16 years old or younger.

The Violet girl told her mother of Johnson's threat and then together the
girl and her mother informed the Sheriff's Office, according to Sheriff
Jimmy Pohlmann.

The teen, interviewed on Saturday by detectives from the Juvenile Division,
said she had wanted to end her relationship with Johnson. That's when
Johnson claimed that he had made a video of them having sex and that he
would post it online if she followed through with the breakup.

Johnson allegedly admitted to Detective Anthony Bruscato that the couple had
sexual relations earlier this year. They had met on Facebook last year and
then began their relationship, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Johnson was being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison on Wednesday in lieu of
a $75,000 bond.

Pohlmann said the case highlights the need for parents to monitor their
children's use of social networking sites and relationships they form with
people online.