By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A MAGISTRATE yesterday sentenced a 21-year-old man to 18 months in prison after he admitted having sex with a teenager.
Antorn Johnson was charged with three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse after prosecutors said he slept with a 15-year-old girl over a period of two months.
Police said Johnson and the teen had sex on three occasions, sometime between January 1-31, February 1-28 and on March 8.
The court was told that the teen’s father reported the matter to police on his daughter’s behalf. The prosecution said after he filed the complaint, police spoke with the 15-year-old who confirmed her father’s report. The girl was then examined by medical professionals at the Princess Margaret Hospital who confirmed she was sexually active.
Johnson was arrested a short time later. During his interview with police, he denied having unlawful sex with the girl.
Yesterday, his attorney, Craig Butler, told the magistrate his client was 20 when he and the minor got together. He argued that Parliament provided the proviso because they understood that “young people got frisky” and that there was a possibility a child could look older than their actual age.
He also stated that in this day and age, young people were inundated with sexual images on a daily basis so when people heard of instances where they were sexually active, it was not as big of a deal as it was in the past.
He insisted Johnson’s actions were not an “egregious offence” and maintained his client’s hormones were “overly active” which caused him “not to think like he should have” in the moment.
In response, Magistrate McKinney said the law was still the law and men had to govern themselves accordingly. He also said the promiscuity of a young lady did not give a man an excuse to violate the law. As a result, he sentenced Johnson to 18 months in prison.
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