Green Bay man accused of exposing himself to teens has sexual assault history, other pending criminal cases

Published: Oct. 26, 2021 at 5:40 PM CDT|Updated: Oct. 27, 2021 at 10:03 AM CDT
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GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A Green Bay man accused of exposing himself in a video chat with teenagers is also facing felony charges in two other criminal cases.

34-year-old Bernard Johnson has three different criminal cases in the next three months, involving a total of 9 felony charges.

On Thursday, Johnson will appear in Outagamie County for a preliminary hearing, facing a total of 4 felony counts of ‘Causing a Child Older than 13 to View/Listen to Sexual Activity in Outagamie County and Calumet County. He’s also charged with 1 felony count of ‘Exposing Genitals to a Child’ in Calumet County.

On March 24, a deputy with the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office was called to a report of a possible sexual offense in a village in the county. A mother had taken her son’s phone and found a group with the name “Spooks” on Facebook Messenger. She said she found photos and videos of a man masturbating while video chatting with her son and some of his friends.

The son, who was underage, said he and three of his friends and two adult men were part of the group. One of the men was identified as Bernard J. Johnson.

The mother showed a video to the deputy who said it showed Johnson masturbating while the others in the chat watched.

On April 5, an investigator made contact with a 16-year-old from a community in Outagamie County who was identified as one of the young people in the video. The victim said he had met the men while employed at the Green Bay Fear haunted house. The victim confirmed that Johnson would masturbate and show off his genitals in video chat.

Green Bay Fear issued the following statement to Action 2 News:

“We are appalled by these events and hope the victims find justice. That individual volunteered, briefly, years before any of these events occurred. With our background check processes no one with these outstanding charges would be allowed to volunteer or work with Green Bay Fear Haunted Attractions. Our background checks and processes are in place to keep our teen volunteers safe.”

Charges were filed in Outagamie County on Sept. 27. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29. Bond was set at $30,000, which Johnson was able to post.

In December, Johnson will be back in Outagamie County Court after being charged in a different case, with one felony count of second-degree sexual assault of a child.

According to the criminal complaint, a child, under the age of 16, told investigators they were ‘repeatedly sexually assault’ by Johnson from about 1996 to 2008. The victim said in 6th grade, Johnson sexually assaulted him in a hayfield behind a relative’s house.

Johnson is out on a $10,000 signature bond signed December 16, 2020. He will be back in court on December 10 for a pre-trial conference.

In January, Johnson is due in Brown County Court on 3 felony charges which include second-degree sexual assault of a mentally ill victim.

Investigators said the mother of a 16-year-old teenager, who is cognitively impaired and has autism, found explicit videos and photos on her son’s phone that was sent to him by a neighbor, now identified as Bernard Johnson. According to the criminal complaint, the victim told investigators Johnson also touched him inappropriately in 2020.

Johnson posted a $10,000 cash bond in November of 2020.

On January 18, 2022, Johnson will appear in court for a plea hearing.

Since two of the three cases were reported to police by parents, Holli Fisher, a program manager of the Sexual Assault Center and Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, said there are ways for parents to keep track of their children’s online activity.

She said parents should encourage kids to use devices in common areas so they can monitor online friends. She said parents can also ‘mirror’ their child’s devices or adjust the privacy settings on their phones.

However, bottom line, she said parents need to have these conversations with their kids now. “I think those ongoing conversations about what are you seeing and viewing online? What happens if you come across something unintentionally or sexually explicit content that you’re exposed to? Do they know to talk to a trusted adult? Because oftentimes these situations can escalate really quickly, where adults are either sharing sexually explicit content are requesting pictures or videos. And then that can be used to exploit the child for further material,” said Fisher.

For resources, parents can visit https://protectyoungeyes.com/ or https://amaze.org/ Fisher said these websites have child-friendly videos about online safety parents can share with their kids.

“You don’t want to scare kids, but you do want them to be aware of what could potentially happen. And you want them to know that they can come to you if you know a person is approaching them with inappropriate content,” said Fisher. " It’s not about not trusting the child, it’s more so to keep the child safe online because we do know there are predators out there who are targeting children who access these popular teenage social media apps to get in contact with kids.”

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