Antoine Johnson - Repeat Sex Offender - Repeatedly

Newly redacted arrest warrants charging a convicted sex offender with sexually assaulting three young girls several times indicate he was well-known to his victims and their family.

Antoine Johnson, 30, of West Main St., has a history of sex offenses dating back prior to 2002 when he was convicted by Florida authorities of sexual battery involving a child under 12, according to court papers and Connecticut’s Sex Offender Registry.

Johnson also was convicted in 2002 of lewd acts on a child under 12 and in 2004 for sexual battery involving a child under 12.

Johnson is now facing nearly four dozens charges in assaults involving three New Britain girls, ages 11, 9 and 6, including 15 counts of first-degree sexual assault, 23 counts of risk of injury to a minor through sexual contact, eight counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and criminal attempt to commit first-degree sexual assault. The incidents were reported to police in April by a state Department of Children and Families investigative social worker, the warrants for his arrest said. The names of the children were not mentioned in the three arrest affidavits. Several pages of the documents pertaining to the children’s admissions to a clinical interview specialist at St. Francis Hospital were blacked out by court staff because they included comments that could identify the names of the victims.

The children had told a woman close to Johnson that he was forcing them to commit sex acts but she said she feared he would kill her if she came forward with the allegations. The woman told police Johnson had choked her until she nearly blacked out and he had slapped and threatened her with a knife during their relationship.

The assaults came to light when an 18-year-old female moved into Johnson’s home and later told her former foster mother he was touching her and the three young girls.

When Johnson learned of the allegations he threatened to kill himself repeatedly, the warrants said. He told police during an interview that he wasn’t guilty of the Florida assaults and feared he would face similar charges here. Police executing a search warrant at his home discovered the apartment matched the description given by the three young victims. They also found several knives stashed in odd places including his bedroom, court papers indicate.

Johnson was arrested by New Britain police last year and accused of chasing and attempting to stab a neighbor. The arrest violated his probation issued out of Florida and he was incarcerated when he was served with the three arrest warrants for the New Britain sexual assaults on May 11.

He has entered not guilty pleas on all the charges and is being held on $1.15 million bond. The condition of his release if he makes bond include no contact with the victims and no contact with family members. Johnson is expected to return to court July 8.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

"On average most sex offenders are never caught again for a new sex offense, after five years, between 10 and 15 percent of sex offenders are detected, often convicted, of committing a new sex offense. If you follow them for ten years the rates go up somewhat, if you follow them as long as we’ve been able to follow them, which is about 20 years, the rates go up to somewhere between 30 to 40 percent of the total sample will eventually be caught for a new sex offense."

Dr. R. Karl Hansen