Overview
- County Circuit Judge Stephen Toner imposed a life sentence after a Hernando County jury in February convicted Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, of molesting two children and electronically transmitting harmful material.
- Johnson had pleaded guilty to Jan. 6 misdemeanors and was freed by the president’s January 2025 pardons before his 2025 arrest in the Florida case.
- Prosecutors said investigators recovered explicit Discord messages, with Johnson urging a victim to switch to a more private app and delete chats.
- A sheriff’s report said Johnson told a child he expected money because of his pardon and promised an inheritance, which investigators viewed as a tactic to keep the abuse secret.
- Reports differ on the investigation’s start date, with local records citing April 2024 and other accounts pointing to July 2025.