'Justice is finally here': Parkton man sentenced in string of cold-case Fayetteville rapes
Editors note: This is a corrected version of the original story. In the original, the name of Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Aul was incorrect.
A Parkton man will spend at least 23 years in prison for a string of rapes and burglaries from 2009 to 2010 that he perpetrated by breaking into women's homes late at night and early in the morning.
Superior Court Judge Pat Nadolski handed down two separate sentences to Johnnie B. Green, 48, which will run simultaneously. Green was sentenced to a maximum term of 28 years, five months in prison for at least 10 rapes and multiple burglaries he committed in Fayetteville, Cumberland County and Hope Mills from June 2009 to November 2010. He was arrested a decade after the rapes in May 2019 through a genetic testing service, part of a Cumberland County initiative to process a backlog of untested sexual assault kits.
According to the Fayetteville Police Department at the time of his arrest, he was suspected in rapes throughout the city including two in the area of Ireland and Village drives; two in the area of Raeford and McPherson Church roads; one in the area of Bragg Boulevard and Cain Road; one in the area of Pamalee Drive and Blanton Road; one in the area of a Cliffdale and Glensford roads; one in the area of Morganton Road and Bonanza Drive and one in the area of Rosehill and Shaw Mill roads.
He pleaded guilty Sept. 12 to 45 charges in the assaults of 10 women, District Attorney Billy West said.
"In six of the 10 cases, we have DNA," Assistant District Attorney Alicia Mark Flowers said prior to sentencing, explaining that in four of the cases, Green's DNA was a definite match.
In two of those cases, she added, DNA testing did not result in a solid match but could not exclude Green as the assailant. The DNA was obtained from sexual assault kits and washcloths taken from the scenes, Flowers said.
Previous coverage: Man charged in multiple rapes in 2009, 2010
"The modus operandi was similar in that there was a demand of money from the victim after he broke in, and a pillow or blanket was placed over the victim's head so they could not see him," Flowers said.
At least five survivors watched the proceedings from the jury box. Some held hands with friends and family who'd come with them; others glared at Green and clutched tissues provided by a victim advocate.
The strength of the survivors was a common theme among those he victimized and who addressed Green and the court before his sentencing; two of the survivors were not present in courtroom but had their statements read aloud by Flowers and Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Aul. Nadolski heard seven victim impact statements in total.
"'To all the other warrior women, keep fighting, every single day, because you matter,'" Flowers said, reading aloud from the first impact statement.
The first survivor to address Green in person said she could not escape the flashbacks of the night he kicked in her door and raped her. She said she attended the hearing in honor of her father, who wanted to address Green personally but died last year before he got the chance.
"That night, you took my soul," she sobbed. "I was living my best life, and you came and took it."
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The second survivor to speak in person said Green's assault forced her to quit her job, which involved working with traumatized children — a weight she felt she could no longer carry in the wake of her own trauma.
"Who is this shell of a woman standing before me?" she read from a journal entry she wrote the day after the attack. "I don't recognize the woman looking back at me in the mirror."
The woman said she moved back to her hometown and no longer felt safe in the area. Just the sight of the town marker on the highway terrified her, she explained. In spite of this, she said, she was able to find peace when she learned the detective calling her to inform her of Green's arrest was the same police officer who responded to the scene.
"It was a full-circle moment, and I saw God in it," she said, sniffling. "Justice is finally here, and I will gladly use my voice to declare it."
The fourth woman to address the court said she had been on the phone with her mother when Green broke into her home.
"She could hear my screams for help," she said tearfully. After the attack, she added, she banged on her neighbors' doors for help, but no one would come outside.
The final survivor present in the courtroom emphasized that Green's crimes had ruined her life and many other lives. Her husband had no choice but to leave the Army after her assault, she said, because she could no longer bear to be alone and could not hold down a job due to her mental health.
"I couldn't even shower without my husband," she said, voice shaking. "That night altered my brain."
The woman had been told she was the last person to be raped by Green, but she didn't believe that was true, she said, asking for the maximum sentence possible.
In handing down the sentence, the judge thanked the victims for their strength.
"I do want to tell those that have spoken — it's mere words, but I'm very sorry for the horrible trauma that you've had to experience," Nadolski said. "I have a lot of respect for y'all doing this."
Green will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and remain under satellite-based monitoring for 10 years, Nadolski said.
Public safety reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County serial rapist sentenced to 23 years in prison
