Overview
- Teriomas Johnson, who pleaded no contest in February to three counts of second-degree child abuse, was sentenced Tuesday to 129 months to 20 years in state prison and barred from any direct or indirect contact with her three children.
- Judge Yasmine Poles said Johnson’s choices endangered the children and rejected the defense claim that system failures caused the neglect, telling her, “I think that you are a selfish liar.”
- The case began in November 2025 after a 12-year-old reported a possible break-in, and deputies instead found an apartment without running water, human and animal waste, rotten food, and a cardboard box used as a toilet.
- Prosecutors said Johnson stayed with a boyfriend and returned only briefly, leaving the children alone for months at a time, while school records showed spotty attendance.
- Child Protective Services placed the children with relatives, and local records show prior CPS complaints had been closed as low or moderate risk as a police chief now says officers failed to alert CPS after a 2024 incident, a gap likely to draw new scrutiny.