TEENAGE RAPIST CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON WAS JAILED FOR 7.5 YEARS
A TEENAGE rapist has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.Christopher Johnson, 19, of Katherine Street, Saltaire, was said to have left his victim traumatised, overwhelmed, and scared to the extent that she felt like she was “dying inside”.
Bradford Crown Court heard how Johnson had also incited a different victim to send him indecent images of herself despite knowing she was just 13.
He also downloaded illicit images of children in Categories A, B, and C with Category A being the most serious.
He will have to register as a sex offender for life and is subject to both a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order for the next ten years.
Johnson, who was of previous good character, was found guilty by a jury after a trial of rape, inciting a child to engage in sexual communications, and possession indecent images of children.
He raped his victim after befriending her on social media, and targeted a second victim by persistently pressuring her for sexual images and to meet for sex.
He also sent her indecent images of himself.
Sentencing Johnson, who appeared via video link from HMP Doncaster, His Honour Judge Ahmed Nadim said: “You were found guilty by the jury of having committed grave offences against children.
“Your conduct demonstrates a calculated and exploitative use of social media platforms to prey upon vulnerable young people.
“Your offending extends beyond the physical acts.
You amassed a collection of indecent images including Category A material, the most serious kind.
“These images are created at the cost of humiliation and damage to young, vulnerable children and by making these images you were giving succour to a marketplace where children are abused.
“This behaviour on your part underscores the pernicious reality of online exploitation.
You used the anonymity and reach of the internet to manipulate and corrupt girls that you had identified as vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation and exploitation.
“The law exists to protect children from precisely this type of abuse.
Your actions were not only criminal but also morally reprehensible.
“They reveal a sustained pattern of disregard for consent, for the dignity of your victims and for the boundaries that civilised society demands.
“It must be understood that the internet is not a playground for predators nor a refuge for those to seek to harm children.” Mitigating for Johnson, Abdul Shakoor said he was of low maturity, had had a very disrupted upbringing, had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, had been bullied at school and college, and was not able to manage actions or emotions.
He was said to have engaged in entrenched self-harming that had increased whilst in custody.
Judge Nadim handed Johnson an aggregate prison sentence of seven-and-a-half years to reflect the totality of his offending.
He will serve two-thirds in custody before being released on licence.
