Illegal alien from the Bahamas sentenced to 27 years in prison for sexually exploiting an 11-year-old victim

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - An illegal alien from the Bahamas was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child.

According to court documents, on July 15, 2025, Newport News Police officers responded to a report of suspected child sexual abuse. As they arrived at the home, they found Rian Wayne Johnson, 38, with the 11-year-old victim. An investigation revealed that from at least May 30, 2025, to July 15, 2025, Johnson sexually exploited the child, for whom he was a primary caregiver. Johnson recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with the victim and kept the recordings on his cellphone.

Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., investigated this case with assistance from the Newport News Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa R. McKeel prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

For more information about HSI's efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 4:25-cr-59.