BY KEITH EPPS
Ted Thomas Johnson was a popular teacher and an award-winning band director.
He also had a dark side--an attraction to young girls that he could not always control.
Johnson, 48, was sentenced in Stafford Circuit Court yesterday to 20 years in prison with all but four years suspended.
He had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery and two counts of attempted custodial indecent liberties with a child.
Johnson, a longtime former band director at Osbourn High School and a teacher at a middle school, molested three girls who were spending nights at his home with his daughter.
All three girls were either 12 or 13. None were students of his.
According to evidence presented by prosecutor Michael Hardiman, an investigation began in February when a 13-year-old girl accused him of improperly touching her.
The girl said she woke up at 6 a.m. Feb. 18 to find Johnson's hand on her buttocks.
The girl's parents called the Sheriff's Office and, after Johnson was arrested, two other girls came forward. They had been molested in 2007, one of them twice.
All three girls were in court yesterday. One girl's mother testified that Johnson's actions "have definitely changed our lives. We don't trust people anymore, and we're angry."
A doctor testified that Johnson has responded well to treatment and now fully realizes the harm he has caused.
She said Johnson was in a "trance-like state" when he committed the offenses, and claimed his actions stemmed from offenses he suffered as a boy.
Hardiman scoffed at the doctor's explanation and asked for a lengthy prison term.
Defense attorney Joe Brown argued that Johnson is remorseful and has already served enough time.
In a long statement made just before Bass pronounced sentence, Johnson apologized to the victims and said he wanted to get home to help his struggling family.
"I am not afraid of prison," he said. "But I'm terrified of not being able to be there for my family."
Johnson had a misdemeanor sexual assault conviction in Michigan in 1982 that also involved an underage girl.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com