Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Accused sent texts from LaCrosse to Moscow teenager
The man was charged after sending sexual texts to the minor.
MOSCOW – A sex offender faces charges of raping a 14-year-old Moscow girl after being charged for sending her sexual text messages while staying in LaCrosse.
Austin T. Johnson, 23, of Moscow, Idaho, is charged with two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes in Whitman County Superior Court on Feb. 17.
Johnson was recently charged with two counts of rape of a minor while being an adult, according to Latah County, Idaho, court records. The teenage victim lives in Moscow, Idaho, which is in Latah County.
He faces a preliminary hearing in Latah County court in late May. His case in Whitman County is on hold until his charges in Latah County are resolved, said Whitman County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau.
In 2020, a woman contacted the Moscow police about finding sexual texts on her daughter's phone. The messages were allegedly between Johnson and a teenage girl in Moscow, Idaho, discussing sex, according to court records.
In the texts, Johnson and his victim explicitly discussed having sex together at least twice, according to the police report.
A search warrant revealed Johnson appeared to have taken part while staying in LaCrosse, which is why some charges are filed in Whitman County.
Johnson is a registered sex offender in Idaho for a 2013 juvenile conviction for lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16 years old, according to the Moscow police. When he turned 20 he was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender. In 2017 he was arrested for two counts of lewd conduct with a 16-year-old girl by the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office in Idaho.
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
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