BALTIMORE COUNTY (WBFF) — Michael Maurice Johnson, a man who was once convicted and then cleared in the killing of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus 25 years for a separate case involving the rape of a woman two years ago.
In April, he was found guilty of first-degree rape and first-degree assault, but acquitted of attempted murder.
According to the state, Johnson’s girlfriend had kicked him out of her apartment because he was texting other women. She told authorities that she was on her bed when Johnson burst into the room and jumped on her back. They would struggle on and off for the next several hours, she said, with him allegedly choking her out several times.
The victim could barely speak when she met with police, body-camera footage presented in court showed. In order to communicate, she had to write messages down on their notebooks, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Johnson, 42, has been in jail since the July 2024 incident.
His arrest came almost a decade after he was absolved of killing 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, the sister of his then-girlfriend, whose disappearance drew national attention to Baltimore.
“We are very pleased with this lengthy sentence; it makes sure this Defendant never harms another woman again,” Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said in a statement.
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