A man from Houston, Arkansas, has been found guilty by a federal jury on 12 counts of producing child sexual abuse material. Jonathan D. Ross, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the verdict.
James Johnson, aged 75, was indicted on February 7, 2023. His trial began on July 14, 2025, under United States District Judge Brian S. Miller. After two days of testimony, the jury took approximately 90 minutes to deliver a guilty verdict on all charges against Johnson.
The trial presented evidence that on September 28, 2022, special agents from the Arkansas State Police met with an employee at Perryville Elementary School regarding a letter written by a minor child victim. The letter contained allegations about Johnson’s conduct.
The victims were two minors living next to Johnson and in his care during the time of abuse. Testimonies revealed that Johnson watched pornography with the children present and engaged in inappropriate physical contact with them.
A search warrant executed at Johnson’s residence led to the seizure of multiple digital items as evidence, including his Samsung Galaxy cell phone. The phone contained images depicting sexually explicit conduct involving one of the minor victims.
Johnson faces a potential sentence ranging from a minimum of 15 years to a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for each count without parole.
The case was investigated by the Arkansas State Police and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin Bryant and Lauren Eldridge.
