A federal judge sentenced former New Orleans schoolteacher Aaron Terod Johnson to 33 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for trafficking a 16-year-old runaway he picked up in Mississippi and brought back to his home in New Orleans. Johnson, 38, was convicted in December after a jury found him guilty of sex trafficking a child and coercion and enticement of a child.
U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk handed down the sentence on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The sentencing capped a case that began in March 2024, when authorities received a report of a missing minor and Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans opened an inquiry into Johnson, as detailed by WWLTV.com.
Trial evidence showed Johnson contacted the girl through social media and, late on March 14, 2024, drove from New Orleans to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he picked her up along with a friend at 1:30 a.m. The girl had told Johnson she was a runaway stranded in Vicksburg, and he transported her back to Louisiana via backroads, reassuring her along the way that his job as a teacher meant he would not harm her, according to the Justice Department. He referenced that same credibility as a teacher while discussing his actions, per the same account.
How Investigators Tracked Down the Teen
The U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations located and recovered the girl at an Orleans Parish residence on March 28, 2024, according to WWLTV.com. Federal agents later searched Johnson's mobile devices after his arrest on August 15, 2024, uncovering additional digital evidence, the DOJ noted. Johnson did not contact law enforcement about the runaway teen at any point, per the outlet's report.
Court records cited by the Justice Department indicate Johnson had saved a screenshot of the girl's social media profile back in February 2024, weeks before he first contacted her. Trial evidence further showed he paid the teen $200, offered her alcohol and marijuana, and sexually assaulted her multiple times, including again within two weeks after she unblocked him online. Prosecutors also presented evidence that he attempted to obtain commercial sex from a separate 15-year-old girl.
Acquittal on a Third Charge
The jury that convicted Johnson in December 2025 acquitted him on a third charge, interstate transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity, according to CaseMine. He was convicted only on the sex trafficking and coercion and enticement counts. Under federal law, sex trafficking of a minor carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison, along with mandatory sex offender registration, the Justice Department has said.
Matt Wright, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans, said Johnson knew how vulnerable children are and chose to use that knowledge to exploit a runaway minor instead of protecting her, WWLTV.com reported. Following Johnson's arrest, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations publicly called for tips to identify any additional potential victims, noting he had worked as a schoolteacher in the New Orleans area since 2023, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A Multi-Agency Case Under a National Initiative
The investigation that led to Johnson's conviction was carried out jointly by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the ATF, and the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office. The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Justice Department initiative launched in 2006 to coordinate federal, state, and local resources against online child sexual exploitation, per the DOJ.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Louisiana cite national figures indicating that one in five children receives an unwanted online sexual solicitation each year, with roughly 50,000 predators actively seeking children online at any given time. In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service New Orleans Task Force executed more than 500 arrests and recovered 24 missing endangered children across the Eastern District of Louisiana, according to the U.S. Marshals Service — including the teenage victim in Johnson's case.
Hoodline previously reported on Johnson's federal indictment in 2024 and his conviction following the December 2025 trial. Authorities continue to urge anyone with information about human trafficking or related crimes to contact the ICE tip line at 866-347-2423.
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