A former Fort Valley State University employee pleaded guilty, prosecutors said Monday, to six counts of prostitution in a case that stunned the campus last fall and caused a stir in the surrounding community.
A judge sentenced Alecia J. Johnson, 49 — who was the university's special events director months before her arrest — to five years on probation, a $1,000 fine and 180 days house arrest, authorities said.
Johnson’s plea agreement is contingent on her testimony in any trials of six men who have been charged with pandering and solicitation of sodomy, prosecutors said. Some of the men held prominent positions in the area, located about 100 miles south of Atlanta, such as a county commissioner, a city manager and an assistant principal.
Johnson and the men were arrested in October. Her attorney, Adrian Patrick, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday his client was guilty of prostitution but she was not involved in pimping, which was one of the initial charges. Johnson had previously been in an abusive relationship and had financial issues, her attorney said.
Patrick said Johnson, who is doing administrative work, agreed to a deal to end the speculation about her, particularly on social media.
“We thought with all those allegations, true and false, we thought it was the best thing to do,” Patrick said.
The investigation, which began months earlier, sparked countless rumors about the size and scope of the prostitution ring, which prosecutors eventually said included an unnamed student. Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke said Monday that Johnson’s actions damaged the university’s reputation.
“Ms. Johnson’s actions in exploiting this young woman cast FVSU in a negative light that the school and those who hold it dear certainly didn’t deserve,” said Cooke.
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