Kentucky man posed as teen on Snapchat to get sexual photos from boys, police say

A Kentucky man was arrested Wednesday after authorities say he posed as a teenage girl on Snapchat in order to get juvenile boys to send him sexual photos.

Kentucky State Police said in a news release that troopers arrested Scotty D. Johnson, 48, of Richmond, on Wednesday after a Madison County grand jury indicted him on various charges following a criminal investigation.

According to the indictment, Johnson allegedly created an account on Snapchat, a popular cellphone app, and pretended to be a teenage girl between the fall of 2017 and April 2019 in order to ask underage boys for explicit photos.  

Johnson sent videos of a female to the minor victims in an attempt to receive the sexual photos, according to the indictment.

After a victim learned they were not talking to another teen, the indictment states Johnson deleted the Snapchat app and conversations from his phone in an attempt to hide the evidence.

The Richmond Register reported that Johnson had served as assistant vice president of Central Bank in Richmond but, according to bank officials, is no longer employed there as of several weeks ago.

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The Richmond newspaper also reported that Johnson ran in 2018 as the Democratic candidate in a local magistrate race before losing in the general election.

He was a member of the Model Laboratory School Council at Eastern Kentucky University but is no longer included on the online listing, the Richmond Register reported.

Johnson has been indicted on seven counts each of use of a minor in a sexual performance, possessing or viewing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor and distribution of obscene matter.

He also faces two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of prohibited use of an electronic communication system to procure a minor.

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Johnson remains held in the Madison County Detention Center, with an arraignment hearing scheduled for Sept. 5.

 A Kentucky State Police investigation is ongoing.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.