SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A West Jordan man was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years to life in prison for raping a child multiple times for about two years.

According to court documents, Dalton Elliott Johnson, 30, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree rape of a child and two counts of child abuse, both class A misdemeanors, back in March. On Thursday, a judge at the Third District Court in Salt Lake County sentenced Johnson to 25 years to life in prison for each of the three counts of rape.

Additionally, Johnson was also sentenced to a year in jail for each of the two misdemeanor charges. Credit has been granted for the 728 days he had previously served. All five charges are to run concurrently.

“It took courage for the young survivor to come forward years after Mr. Johnson began
committing these crimes,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We never want any of our children to suffer in silence through abuse. We applaud the survivor’s willingness to stand up for not only herself but also the other child physically abused by Mr. Johnson.”

The Office of the Salt Lake County District Attorney filed the five charges against Johnson on Oct. 8, 2021, after West Jordan Police received reports that the man had raped a 13-year-old child multiple times between Aug. 1, 2019, and July 8, 2021. He was also accused of physically abusing the same child and another 7-year-old child.

According to charging documents, Johnson shot the two kids with a BB gun, causing them to have bruises on the spots where they were shot. Johnson would also pull the 7-year-old child’s hair and punch them in the legs, police say.

Charging documents also revealed that Johnson would threaten to kill the children’s pets if they told on him. He reportedly paid the 13-year-old child so that they would keep everything a secret.