With Leonardo BlairSenior Reporter Thursday, October 31, 2024

An Alabama man accused of pimping and having sex with a teenager selling nudes on Snapchat when he was just 12 claims to be a volunteer youth pastor there. Macedonia 17th Street Baptist Church He has been working as a “counsellor” for children between the ages of 5-18 for the last 12 years.

Stephen Johnson, 40, is accused of trafficking the alleged victim, now 17, and living off the proceeds of prostitution, according to court documents reviewed by The Christian Post. Macedonia 17th Street Baptist Church also did not respond to CP’s calls regarding allegations Johnson made to investigators with the Plantation Police Department in Florida.

According to investigators, on Oct. 23, they responded to an online escort ad and an undercover officer was directed to an apartment in Plantation. When the officer arrived at the apartment, a “light-skinned black woman” wearing a T-shirt and short shorts answered the door. Because the woman looked like the woman in the escort ads, the officer identified herself and asked if anyone else was in the apartment with her. He confirmed that Johnson was in the apartment and that police found him “lying on the floor bed in the master bedroom.”

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The teen later told officers that she started selling nudes on Snapchat when she was about 12 years old and living in Maryland. He eventually met someone he thought was a woman named Antania online and asked her to help sell his content. He said that during their online relationship, which lasted about 4-5 years until he turned 17 in 2023, he revealed his age to Antania when he was 13, but Antania didn’t really care.

In September 2023, looking to escape homelessness after living with an abusive caregiver, the teenager decided to move to Birmingham, Alabama, to stay with Antania. He said he bought Antania’s plane ticket, but when he arrived in Birmingham he learned that Antania was actually Johnson.

She said Johnson offered to help her sell her body to make more money beyond the images she was already selling online, posted escort ads for her and manipulated her into participating in commercial sex acts. He later moved to South Florida after being accepted to Nova Southeastern University. The teen said Johnson followed her and continued to manipulate her into prostitution.

According to investigators, Johnson had sex with the alleged victim for $800 when she was 17 years old. He admitted to participating in commercial sex acts in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Florida.

In his interview with investigators, Johnson said he met the teen approximately four to five years ago (2019-2020) while selling nude content on Snapchat, possibly with a black woman named Antania Hodges. He said he needed help selling his nude content and offered to help.

Johnson initially told investigators he thought the alleged victim was 18 when she started selling his content, but he later admitted to police that she started sending him content when she was 14. He was only 17 years old in January this year.

He also boasted that he earned approximately $105,000 during that time and kept 40% of his income.

Johnson, who told police he was unemployed and had previously worked at the Dollar Store and Piggly Wiggly grocery store, admitted that he was currently a volunteer youth pastor at Macedonia 17th Street Baptist Church, ministering to youth ages 5 to 18. He had been in this position for 12 years and served as a “consultant” for children.

He told police that their relationship with the alleged victim was sometimes tumultuous while he was in Alabama. He allegedly once caused $7,000 in damage to a rental car and only gave her $200 for the damage.

He said he eventually repaid her with sexual favors. Johnson said he was able to pay for the damage to the rental car after “out of the blue” receiving a $17,000 check from the government.