FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A former contracted school mentor arrested at Edison High School last year in a case involving a student has been released from custody and will begin probation after pleading no contest to multiple charges.
25-year-old Juanya Johnson was released after spending about a year in custody and will now serve three years of probation.
Johnson was arrested on campus just over a year ago and initially faced several charges. In April, he pleaded no contest to three counts.
Prosecutors revealed in court that the victim was a 16-year-old female student.
According to prosecutors, Johnson was working as the student’s counselor and had been made aware of prior sexual assaults involving the student.
They said he took advantage of the situation after learning about those past incidents. Authorities said Johnson pulled the student out of class on occasion and contacted her outside of school through social media.
“Parents are meant to send kids to school to be safe, not worry about these things. However, Mr. Johnson, being a counselor, betrayed this trust with parents, betrayed this trust with his employer, betrayed the trust with the school,” said prosecutor Brian Exline.
Prosecutors had sought a maximum sentence of four years in the case. Johnson instead received three concurrent two-year sentences.
Due to 744 days of custody credits, he was eligible for release and began probation immediately.
Fresno Unified School District officials said Johnson was not employed directly by the district but was contracted through a separate organization that provided services to one of its schools.
