Man guilty in child porn case

Talk about it

MOORHEAD - A Moorhead man has been found guilty of possessing child pornography.

Clay County District Court Judge Michael Kirk ruled Friday that an image of a nude girl stored in a cell phone belonging to Gary Lee Johnson, 30, constituted illegal pornography.

Earlier this week, Johnson and prosecutors submitted a list of facts to the court that both sides agreed on.

In the stipulated facts, Johnson acknowledged he transferred an image of a nude girl from one cell phone to another.

It was up to the judge to decide whether the image constituted child pornography.

Kirk’s ruling states Johnson transferred the image knowing it was a pornographic work involving a minor.

Johnson’s attorney, Mara Rausch, said the case will be appealed.

Earlier this week, Johnson pleaded guilty to a companion charge of making terroristic threats.

He admitted he made statements in April to the effect he would shoot police if they came to his door.

Under a plea agreement, he was to be sentenced to six months regardless of how the judge ruled on the pornography charge.

Because he had been in custody long enough to satisfy the anticipated sentence, Johnson is now out of jail and will remain so, even though he will not be officially sentenced until a hearing in October.

Tags: news, moorhead, childpornography, garyjohnson, gary, johnson