PLANTATION, Fla. – Plantation police arrested a volunteer pastor accused of trafficking a 17-year-old and taking 40% of the $100,000 she made.
Stephen Johnson, 40, is accused of living off the earnings of a sex worker.
Authorities allege he encouraged sex work in as many as six states, including here in Florida.
Johnson worked as a volunteer youth group pastor in Alabama for 12 years, working with children aged 5 to 18.
It is not clear whether he met the teen in church.
Local 10 News looked into his background and found a 2019 attempted rape and strangulation case, but he was never convicted.
He appeared in bond court Thursday, where a judge ordered him to stay away from the teen and have no contact with minors.
Prosecutors believe he is a danger to the community.
“I don’t think it is safe for females in the community to have him traveling about, not knowing where he is,” said a prosecutor.
Johnson is currently being held at the jail on a $500,000 bond.