On Thursday, Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment and arrest of Houston County Assistant District Attorney Mark David Johnson. Johnson, age 53 of Dothan, was indicted for multiple ethics charges. Johnson turned himself into the Houston County Sheriff’s Office Thursday without incident and is expected to make bond.
Johnson has been subject to a joint Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division investigation into public corruption. The indictment charges Johnson with three counts of soliciting anything for the purpose of corruptly influencing official action and three counts of using his official position or office for personal gain.
Johnson was indicted for soliciting “a female companion or escort” from a criminal defendant for the purpose of corruptly influencing official action in her criminal case(s).
Johnson was also indicted for “soliciting picture(s), or female companionship, or sexual contact” from a criminal defendant (Witness Two) for the purpose of corruptly influencing official action in her criminal case(s).
In the third count, Johnson was charged with “soliciting picture(s), or female companionship, or sexual contact” from a criminal defendant for the purpose of corruptly influencing official action in her criminal case(s);
Each of these charges was based on the testimony of three different witnesses.
Witness one testified that Johnson used his position as an assistant district attorney to obtain “a female companion or escort”
Witness two testified that Johnson used his position as an ADA to obtain “sexual picture(s)” from her.
Finally, the sixth charge is that Johnson used his position as an ADA to obtain “sexual contact or sexual picture(s)” from Witness Three.
If convicted, Johnson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $30,000 fine for each of the six counts in the indictment. All are Class B felonies.
An indictment simply means that a grand jury has found that there is a probability that a crime occurred. Johnson will have an opportunity to defend himself in court. Every defendant is innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law before a jury of his peers.
Attorney General Marshall thanked the Houston County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance during the investigation.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
