SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A mother of two children is suing nonprofit groups after a Sanford man pled guilty last year to producing videos of children being sexually exploited, according to court records.
In February 2022, investigators announced the arrest of the Sanford man — Justin Johnson — who had been a foster parent with around 20 children placed in his care since 2019.
Johnson was indicted on federal charges a month later after police said they confiscated several of Johnson’s devices, which contained images and videos of children being sexually abused.
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He pled guilty in July 2022 to charges of producing and attempting to produce such videos, and possession of child sexual abuse materials.
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Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed by the biological mother on behalf of her two daughters — ages 8 and 11 — who were placed into Johnson’s foster home back in 2021, court records show.
The lawsuit says that the girls were sexually abused by Johnson until they were eventually removed from his home in January 2022.
In the lawsuit, the Embrace Families Foundation and The Children’s Home Society of Florida — two groups responsible for administering the foster care system in Seminole County — are accused of negligence over the girls being placed with Johnson.
“Unfortunately, the mental, physical and sexual abuse that occurred inside his foster home could have been prevented by numerous child welfare agencies if they simply observed the tell-tale signs of abuse occurring inside the foster home,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit also says that Johnson made it difficult for case managers to visit the foster home, explaining that the girls were never interviewed without Johnson around.
As a result, the lawsuit seeks over $50,000 in damages for the psychological and physical suffering that the two girls experienced.
The full lawsuit can be read in the media viewer below.
2023CA001875_8 (1) by Anthony Talcott on Scribd