Crime & Safety

Man Indicted on Five Counts of Distributing Obscene Materials to Oconee Teen

Criminal indictments are not evidence of guilt; they are only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

A 20-year-old Lizella man who was arrested in July on charges of electronically distributing obscene materials to an Oconee County teen has been indicted by a grand jury.

According to the 5-count indictment filed Tuesday with the Clerk of Superior Court, Martin Coty Johnson, is of male genitalia and acts of masturbation to the victim.  The indictment alleges the images were sent on May 29 and June 30 of 2012 "with the intent to arouse the sexual desires" of the teen. Authorities with the Oconee County Sheriff's Office said Johnson met the 14-year-old victim through an Internet chat room.

Johnson has been formally charged with five counts of child molestation under statute 16-6-4(a)(2) related to the sending of obscene materials to minors.

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The United States Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force helped take Johnson into custody on July 5.  He was released from the Oconee County Jail the same day on a $12,500 bond.

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