Cherokee County Man Accused Of Lewd Acts With Child

A Cherokee County man is in jail on a complaint of lewd acts toward a minor after deputies say he was found lying in bed with a 6-year-old.

Investigators say Byron Johnson is blaming the victim for what happened.

A family member told Cherokee County deputies she found Johnson in the 6-year-old's bedroom, under the sheets. She said Johnson's pants were down “past his waist area.”        

When she asked him what was going on, she told deputies his response was, "his pants had fallen down due to them being loose."

Johnson admitted to investigators he was in bed with the child, claiming in court documents the 6-year-old pulled his pants down.

He told investigators this "wasn't the first time the child had tried to touch his private parts."

"That's something that we see commonly in cases like this,” Cherokee County Undersheriff Jason Chennault said. “Suspect tries to lay blame on the victim. That's not at all what we believe happened. But that was his story.”

Johnson's arrest affidavit says the child was adopted into the family, because of a "similar incident" involving his biological parents.

Child Abuse Network CEO and President Maura Guten says, sadly, it's not that uncommon for a child to be abused by different people.

"Kids who have been victimized before, we will see at times, adults will realize that this is something that's occurred to this child before and perhaps I could perpetrate on this child as well,” Guten said.

The Child Abuse Network works with kids not only to hear their stories, but to help them on the track to recovery.

"It's paramount that the kids and the families have some trauma-focused services so that they can heal and move forward with some hope,” Guten said.

If you suspect something inappropriate is going on with a child in your life, even if you think it might be insignificant, law enforcement encourages everyone to speak up and let them investigate.