Athol man sentenced to 13 to 15 years on child rape charges

GREENFIELD — After being found guilty on multiple charges related to the sexual abuse of a minor, Kenneth Johnson, 63, of Athol, was sentenced to 13 to 15 years in state prison, followed by three years of probation, on Wednesday.

Johnson was convicted in Franklin County Superior Court earlier this month on two counts of aggravated rape and abuse of a child; five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old; and single counts of intimidation of a witness, attempting to commit a crime and accosting/annoying another person. He was found not guilty on a single count of intimidation of a witness.

The charges arose from repeated sexual abuses committed by Johnson between 2017 and 2020 against a female child who was under his care, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. The abuse began when the girl was approximately 10 years old.

Johnson’s wife, Shelley Johnson, 54, of Athol, was sentenced to three months of probation for one count of witness intimidation after evidence showed she instructed the victim not to report the abuse to police.

“My innocence was stolen from me when I was only a child, and even into my adulthood, I haven’t fully recovered. I have nightmares so vivid and frequent that I had to take medication for it. Whenever I take walks outside to get some fresh air, I find that I’m constantly looking over my shoulder and watching everyone,” the victim said, addressing the court on Wednesday afternoon. “Most of the time, I catch myself searching my surroundings for anything I could potentially use as a weapon to defend myself if someone were to come to try to attack me.”

Before the Johnsons, Judge Deepika Shukla, her mother and a crowd of bikers assigned to the international nonprofit Bikers Against Child Abuse, the victim stressed that she was very young and innocent when the abuse started.

The survivor added that while Johnson’s sentence was ultimately up to the judge to decide, she agreed with the 20- to 25-year sentence suggested by the case’s prosecutor, Lori Odierna, chief of the Child Protection Unit at the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.

“I was an innocent child when Ken was hurting me. When the abuse had started, I was 10. I had noticed that I would feel nauseous around Ken and, me being a child, I thought it was a sign that Ken had gotten me pregnant,” the victim recounted. “I truly believe that anyone who makes a child feel this way deserves as much mercy for themselves as they showed the child they were abusing.”

Kenneth Johnson’s attorneys, Sean Smith and Rebecca Carter, argued that their client should receive a 10-year sentence. Although Smith argued that his client’s age would make him less likely to reoffend upon release from incarceration, Odierna argued that Kenneth Johnson’s age was, in fact, an aggravating factor, as it shows that he was mature while he abused the young girl.

Shukla acknowledged Odierna’s argument about Kenneth Johnson’s age, noting that the age gap between him and the girl makes the crime more severe.

“Mr. Johnson’s age may be viewed as a mitigating factor, given the length of the sentence and his projected age upon release,” Shukla said. “At the same time, the large age difference between Mr. Johnson and [the girl] at the time of his offenses makes this case more serious than had the age difference not existed.”

Addressing the survivor, Shukla added, “I want to thank you for your courage in coming forward and testifying in this case. You are strong and intelligent, and you have so much ahead of you.”

The probation portion of Kenneth Johnson’s sentence, according to Shukla’s sentencing, includes the stipulations that he participate in sex offender evaluation and treatment; register with the sex offender registry; have no contact with any child under the age of 16 in any manner; not reside with, nor spend any overnights with, a child under the age of 16; not be employed by any organization or participate in any volunteer activity where he would have “more than incidental” unsupervised contact with minors under the age of 16; and stay 100 yards or more away from the victim and her family, making no contact with her either directly or indirectly.

Shelley Johnson, under the terms of her probation, must stay at least 100 yards away from and have no contact with the survivor, her residence, school and work. She must also stay 100 yards away from and have no contact with the girl’s immediate family members.

“I still get woken up quite frequently because either [the survivor] or her sister has had a nightmare about Ken or Shelley. If it’s not the nightmares, it’s insomnia due to anxiety and racing thoughts that she has had. … Because of the sexual assault by Ken, [she] will always live with anxiety and depression. Just now it will be easier to cope with, knowing that her perpetrators will have to take accountability,” the survivor’s mother said, addressing the court on Wednesday. “As for Shelley … I entrusted her with my kids and she let them down. [The survivor] came to her at her most vulnerable moment and Shelley dismissed her, told her to lie and pushed her away. … I don’t think she should ever be trusted to be the voice for someone who can’t speak for themselves.”