A 67-year-old Level 2 Sex Offender accused of trading cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol and money with young girls in exchange for sexual contact was charged in Clallam County Superior Court on Wednesday, Feb. 6, with 10 counts of child rape and child molestation.
Lynn George Johnson of Sequim, who has previous convictions of second-degree child molestation and third-degree child molestation, is now charged with raping and molesting four children ranging from ages 11 to 15 since 2016 though December 2018.
On Monday, Feb. 4, the newly appointed Superior Court Judge Brent Basden followed the state’s recommendation and ordered Johnson held in the Clallam County jail on $350,000. Arraignment is set for Feb. 15.
If released, Johnson must not have any contact with children younger than 16 and is required to be placed on electronic home monitoring with GPS.
Three juveniles, ages ranging from 13 to 16, told the Sequim Police Department in mid-January that they had been victims of sexual abuse by Johnson, according to an affidavit for probable cause filed in Clallam County Superior Court on Monday.
“A common theme among all the victims is that Johnson never asked that they perform any acts on him, that it was always him performing acts of a sexual nature on them,” Sgt. Michael Hill wrote in an affidavit for probable cause.
Johnson is charged with four counts of third-degree child molestation, one count of first-degree rape of a child, one count of second-degree rape of a child, one count of third-degree rape of a child and three counts of second-degree child molestation.
Hill wrote that when Johnson was arrested a block from his Sequim home Feb. 1, he told police he didn’t want to talk to them and said, “I better get a lawyer.”
Hill said Feb. 5 that while the charges relate to incidents that are alleged to have happened since 2016, investigators have heard allegations going back several years.
The 10 charges filed last week are “the ones we feel can be proven,” he said.
Hill said one of the girls reported contact with Johnson happening about three times per month, which added up to more than 70 incidents.
One of the girls said Johnson had been touching her since she was about 7 years old, but the contact progressed until he would give her cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol in exchange for sexual contact.
She recalled a time when she, 14 at the time, and an 11-year-old friend wanted cigarettes.
“As payment they had to go into Johnson’s bedroom,” Hill wrote in the report.
Another girl told investigators that Johnson’s trailer is a “hang out for young girls,” and she knew girls that Johnson had touched.
That girl said she has been trying to get victims to come forward for a long time, but two other alleged victims are upset because the reports would get Johnson in trouble, Hill wrote in his report.
Hill wrote that there had been other allegations made against Johnson in recent years, including a report to a teacher in 2017 and another student reporting to a school counselor in 2018.
One girl, who had denied sexual contact with Johnson in the past, said he told her that if she said anything he would get his gun, court papers say.
Hill said last week that the Sequim Police Department is asking the public for help in the case.
“We’ve identified a core group of victims, but we’re aware other juveniles have been to the residence,” Hill said.
He said if more people come forward there is the potential for more charges against Johnson.
The Sequim Police Department is asking anyone with information about Johnson’s behaviors and actions with minors to contact Officer Paul Dalidenas by calling 360-683-7227.
Jesse Major is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
