LIVINGSTON – A former Park County sheriff has been sentenced to five years with the state Department of Corrections in an intimidation case that initially involved allegations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl.
The Livingston Enterprise reports that District Judge Ray Dayton sentenced 60-year-old Charley Johnson on Friday to 10 years under state supervision with five years suspended. The Corrections department will determine whether Johnson will spend that time in prison or be subject to a less watchful eye.
Johnson, who was sheriff from 1986 to 1998, previously pleaded no contest to a felony count of intimidation. In exchange, prosecutors amended the original charge of felony sexual assault to that of intimidation and dismissed a charge of assault with a weapon.
The plea deal says that between 1995 and 2001, Johnson threatened the teen with “physical confinement or restraint” to cause her to perform “an act.” The charge does not specify what the act was, but prosecutors and the judge said Friday that the case in its entirety involved allegations of sexual assault.
The victim is now in her late 20s.