Hancock County Man Pleads Guilty To Molesting Child, Gets 21 Years

Source: Hancock County Jail / other

GREENFIELD, Ind. — Two decades in prison for a man who admitted to molesting a 12-year-old child in Hancock County.

James Johnson, who is 71, will spend the next 21 years in a state prison. He pleaded guilty when he went before a judge earlier this year faced charges of child molestation.

Police say they began looking into Johnson in May of 2023 when the victim’s father came forward saying that his child told him about the abuse. When police talked to the child they provided details of sexual abuse and text messages Johnson would send them.

“This was a particularly good outcome because the juvenile victim was able to receive closure to the case without having to relive the trauma they experienced, which would have been the case had the matter proceeded to trial,” said Hancock County prosecutor Brent Eaton.