Oregon man charged with sexually abusing two children he met on Snapchat | Central Oregon Daily

An eastern Oregon man has been charged with sexually abusing two minors he met on Snapchat and bringing them across state lines, according to federal prosecutors, and faces up to life in prison.

The Justice Department said Albert Wayne Johnson, 40, of La Grande, is charged with coercing and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual conduct and bringing a minor with the intent to commit a sex offense.

The investigation began on August 8, when the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call that two minors had been abandoned at Barton Park in Boring, according to the Department of Justice.

The children allegedly told officers they met Johnson through Snapchat and that he took them from Washington state to Oregon through Idaho. The children allegedly claimed Johnson abused them both on multiple occasions during the trip.

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Along the way, the men stopped at a motel in Othello, Washington, and at a campground in La Grande, the Justice Department alleges. Johnson then allegedly left the children at a campground in Barton Park and did not return.

During the investigation, Othello police reportedly received surveillance video of Johnson and the two children at the local motel.

Johnson was arrested by multiple agencies at his La Grande home on August 30 on a warrant for his arrest for violating probation.

The U.S. Department of Justice states that both the coercion and seduction of minors to engage in sexual acts and the transport of minors with the intent to commit a sexual offense can be punished with life imprisonment and a minimum sentence of ten years per count.

Anyone with information regarding physical or online child exploitation is asked to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Cases like this are always a reminder to parents that they need to be careful about what their children are doing online and who they are interacting with.