Thomas E. Johnson - 81 year old Repeat Sex Offender

Sarah Tofte of the Human Rights Watch says
25% of all sex offenders
re-offend within 15 years.

An 81-year-old Altoona man charged with indecently assaulting a child already is a registered sexual offender in Pennsylvania and Florida.

Thomas E. Johnson remains in Blair County Prison after Judge Jolene Kopriva Friday refused to accept a plea agreement that did not require jail time.

It was the second time a plea agreement was rejected by a Blair County judge.

Judge Daniel J. Milliron first refused to accept the plea agreement several weeks ago because sentencing guidelines indicated that he should receive at least three years in prison.

Kopriva made a veiled reference to a Florida case Friday. Johnson spent more than three years in prison in that case, court records state.

Johnson was sentenced to nine years in prison in September 1995 for a 1991 sexual battery case.

The assault occurred in Pinellas County, Fla., according to the Florida sex offender and corrections Web sites.

Johnson received five years in prison for not appearing in court in 1992. He was extradited to Florida after his arrest in Blair County.

Johnson landed on the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law list for the Florida conviction. His listing last was updated Friday.

Defense attorney Theodore J. Krol said he wasn’t aware of Johnson’s entire background.

Krol said Johnson may suffer from dementia and contended that the assault was an accident that occurred while rubbing the child’s back.

Blair County court records also show that in January 2003, Johnson pleaded guilty to the indecent assault of a 16-year-oldbefore Kopriva and was placed on one year probation. Krol was his attorney in that case as well.

Krol said he has talked to Johnson and said he may enter a guilty plea and accept the 90-day jail sentence.

Sarah Tofte of the Human Rights Watch says that 25% of all sex offenders
re-offend within 15 years.