The girl appeared to be “drugged” when police located her hours after she was reported missing by a family member.
EMERYVILLE — A 46-year-old Riverside County man has been charged with six counts of sexually abusing East Bay girl he met through an online dating app, alleged crimes that were only discovered after the girl turned up missing one day.
Bradley Johnston was charged with six counts of committing a lewd act upon a child and statutory rape, and well as charges of possession of child pornography, and possessing a concealed weapon in public, court records show. The gun charges stem from his April 11 arrest, while prosecutors allege that the sexual abuse started back in February.
Johnston was arrested hours after the 15-year-old girl’s family member reported her missing, telling police that the girl failed to show up at high school that day without explanation. The girl’s sister told police the alleged victim had been with her “boyfriend” one day prior, authorities said. That led to the identification of Johnston, who police located by checking hotel registries around the Bay Area.
Once investigators tracked Johnston to an Emeryville hotel, they located his vehicle nearby, and pulled it over. That’s where they found him and the girl, according to court records. Police say she “appeared to be drugged” when they located her, and that they later determined he gave her alcohol and marijuana. An unregistered gun was also allegedly found in the car.
The two reportedly met weeks earlier on the Down app, a casual dating services that used to be called Bang With Friends, according to police. After his arrest, Johnston told police the two had exchanged nude photos and “attempted” sexual intercourse on prior meetups. The girl told police Johnston bought a sex toy for her and gave her flowers, authorities said in court filings.
Child pornography was found on Johnston’s phone, including but not limited to the 15-year-old girl, authorities said. On April 15, Johnston pleaded not guilty. He was later released from jail in lieu of $135,000 bail. His release conditions include a court order that he is to have no unsupervised contact with minors.
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