La Grande man sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for sexually abusing two minors he met online
By Joe Hathaway on Thursday, May 16th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from the U.S Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon) A La Grande, Oregon man was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison Wednesday for sexually abusing and transporting two minors from Washington State he met through Snapchat.
Albert Wayne Johnson, 42, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison and 10 years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, on August 8, 2022, deputies from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of two minors abandoned at Barton Park in Boring, Oregon. The children told the deputies they met Johnson on Snapchat and that he had driven them from Washington State through Idaho and into Oregon, and had sexually abused both during the trip. Along the way, Johnson stopped at a motel in Othello, Washington, where he abused the children, and a campground near La Grande, where he continued to abuse one of the children. After arriving in Boring, Johnson left the children at a campsite in Barton Park and never returned.
In August 2022, after receiving information about the abduction and abuse that had occurred, detectives from the Othello Police Department contacted the motel in Othello and obtained surveillance footage showing Johnson with the two children.
On August 30, 2022, officers and deputies from the La Grande Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Probation Department, and Umatilla Tribal Police Department located Johnson at his residence in La Grande and arrested him on an outstanding parole violation warrant.
On October 5, 2022, Johnson was charged by criminal complaint with coercing and enticing a minor and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Later, on November 2, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a three-count indictment charging Johnson with traveling across state lines to engage in a sexual act with a minor, transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and commission of a sex offense by a registered sex offender.
On January 24, 2024, Johnson pleaded guilty to transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
This case was investigated by the FBI Pendleton Resident Agency with assistance from the Othello Police Department, La Grande Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Probation Department, Umatilla Tribal Police Department, and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Cassady Adams, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
