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The Boone County Courthouse is in downtown Columbia (2019 file photo from 939 the Eagle)

Boone County Prosecutor Knight: there were more victims in Joanthony Johnson case

32-year-old Joanthony Johnson is serving a 100-year sentence at the state’s maximum-security prison in southern Missouri’s Licking (2020 file photo courtesy of Karen Pojmann at the Missouri Department of Corrections)

Boone County’s longtime prosecutor says Joanthony Johnson could be the most prolific serial rapist in county history.

Dan Knight made his comments during a recent interview with reporters in his office, including 939 the Eagle. Knight led the prosecution against the 32-year-old Johnson, who is serving a 100-year prison sentence for two counts of rape, two counts of sodomy and attempted sexual abuse.

“We had four victims in that case, but there were more. There were more than that,” Knight says.

Knight revealed that detail during the extensive interview, which covered the numerous cases he’s prosecuted over the years.

Prosecutors say Johnson met the four female victims at downtown Columbia bars, before sexually assaulting them at his apartment. Johnson’s mother testified during his 2017 trial, saying her son’s actions were not criminal.

Knight hopes this case raises awareness for young women who go to bars in Columbia.

“This is an ongoing problem. And I was always hopeful that that that would be something, there would be a deterrent effect. But there would also be this component, where people who are going to bars and things like that would be more aware that this is what can happen,” says Knight.

Johnson is serving his 100-year sentence at the state’s maximum-security prison in southern Missouri’s Licking.

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