Brooksville Man Sentenced to Life for Child Sex Crimes; Capitol Pardon Cited

Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, of Brooksville, will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him on multiple child sex-crime counts and a judge imposed a life sentence at a hearing March 5–6, 2026, the State Attorney’s Office says. Assistant State Attorneys Kasey Whitson and Rob Lewis led the prosecution in Florida’s 5th Judicial Circuit.

Court filings reviewed by investigators and descriptions in the charging documents list convictions that include lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12 and of a child between 12 and 16, lewd or lascivious exhibition, and transmission of material harmful to a minor. Reporting from the case varies: some accounts say jurors convicted Johnson on five counts while other accounts say he was convicted on the transmission charge as well. The certified jury verdict form and the signed judgment from the March 5–6 sentencing are needed to reconcile the exact counts and any acquittals.

Hernando County Sheriff’s deputies and detectives began probing allegations after investigators reviewed electronic evidence and victim statements. A probable cause affidavit signed by Detective Brent Stentz Jr. says a mother discovered inappropriate messages on the Discord application, prompting an April 2024 investigation; that affidavit states one child told investigators Johnson molested him multiple times between April and October 2024, including an alleged incident in which the child woke up to Johnson’s hand in his pants on a lanai at Johnson’s home and another incident at a hotel in Tarpon Springs. Deputies later obtained a cell phone that Johnson had given to one of the victims “specifically to maintain contact,” and investigators reported finding sexually explicit messages and attempts by Johnson to move conversations to a more private app and to delete messages.

Prosecutors told investigators that one victim described incidents occurring while a second victim was present, and that the second victim independently corroborated similar instances of inappropriate touching during separate interviews conducted by Hernando County Sheriff’s Office personnel and the You Thrive Child Advocacy Center. Investigators also reported that Johnson used gifts and food as bribes to secure silence and allegedly told a child never to speak up because he would “get into trouble.”

Separately, federal records show Johnson was charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol; an FBI statement of facts cited entry through a broken window and an arrest for violating Washington’s curfew. Those federal records indicate Johnson later received clemency as part of President Donald Trump’s pardons of Jan. 6 defendants. The federal matter is distinct from the state prosecution in Hernando County.

Under Florida law, lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12 is a life felony and can carry a life sentence or a split sentence that includes a mandatory minimum of 25 years; prosecutors had said Johnson faced up to life in prison. The official sentencing order filed March 5–6, 2026 will provide the formal record of the judge’s precise language, any mandatory minimum application, and ancillary penalties such as sex-offender registration or restitution.