Man pleads guilty in online enticement case
Mar. 14—ASHLAND — A man busted twice by the same undercover officer posing as a teenage girl pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court.
Nathaniel Johnson, 30, of Ashland, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted online enticement to commit a sexual act against a minor. In exchange for his plea, he agreed to serve 20 years in federal prison.
Federal rules require anyone serving a prison sentence to serve 85% in lockup. In Johnson's case, that equals out to 17 years. Following his release, he will be under supervision by federal authorities for another 20 years.
In all, Johnson will be a totally free man by his 60s — even then, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
Johnson was busted by an undercover officer working for the Kentucky Attorney General's Office posing as a minor in June 2022 less than a week after pleading guilty to a state court case out of Shelby County.
In the Shelby County case, he left his toddler-age children home alone to meet up with the "girl," all with the plan to take her back to his place to sexually assault her.
At the time of his arrest, Johnson was on probation. Now living in Ashland, he even told the new "girl" he had to be careful because he was on paper for sexting with a minor, court records show.
Johnson is due to be sentenced on June 12, almost a year to the day he was busted by the investigator.
(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com
