A former schoolteacher was sentenced Aug. 19 to 33 years in federal prison for sex trafficking a child, following an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans.
Aaron Johnson, 38, also received lifetime supervised release. A federal jury convicted him on Dec. 8, 2025, of sex trafficking a child and coercion and enticement of a child to engage in prostitution.
HSI New Orleans opened the case in March 2024 after receiving reports of a missing girl. Investigators determined that Johnson, then working as a teacher, contacted the girl after she identified herself as a runaway stranded in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He arranged for her to travel to his residence in New Orleans and exploited her instead of contacting authorities.
On March 28, 2024, HSI and the U.S. Marshals Service recovered the girl at a residence in Orleans Parish. Johnson was arrested Aug. 15, 2024. A later search of his mobile devices found evidence that he had also tried to solicit commercial sex from a 15-year-old girl.
“As a schoolteacher at the time of his crimes, Johnson knew how vulnerable children are and chose to use that knowledge to exploit a runaway minor instead of protecting her,” said HSI New Orleans acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright. “That kind of calculated abuse of a position of trust is among the most egregious conduct we see in human trafficking and child exploitation cases. While no sentence can undo the trauma he inflicted, I am proud of the tireless commitment of our special agents and law enforcement partners who worked to ensure this predator was brought to justice.”
The sentence closes a multi-year federal case built by HSI New Orleans and the U.S. Marshals Service. Officials said the investigation focused on locating the missing child, documenting the charges, and removing Johnson from the community.
