A Cobb County man was convicted of child molestation charges for incidents beginning in 2017, and given two life sentences plus five years.

The office of Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady issued the following public information release with the details:

March 8, 2022 — Cobb County District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. announces that on March 7, 2022 Bennie Johnson (66) was sentenced to two life sentences, plus five years by Cobb County Superior Court Senior Judge G. Grant Brantley. A Cobb County jury found Johnson guilty of Rape, Aggravated Child Molestation, and two counts of Child Molestation on February 25, 2022. Judge Brantley presided over both the trial and the sentencing.

Johnson’s charges stemmed from allegations that he committed multiple acts of sexual assault on an eight-year old child starting in 2017. Cobb County Police Department Sergeant Lindsay Mack led the investigation which also revealed the eight-year old victim’s mother had been sexually abused by Johnson as a child as well. During the trial, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Patricia Hull and Assistant District Attorney Alex Clark presented evidence which included the testimony of law enforcement, medical personnel, and the victim, who is now twelve. Another witness testified she had also been raped by Johnson as a child when he was married to her mother. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts of the indictment.

The District Attorney’s trial team included Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Patricia Hull, Assistant District Attorney Alex Clark, Victim Advocate Jessica Hines, Investigator Rodney Hendrix, Investigator Carol Burkes, and Legal Assistant Karen Walker.

“This is the beginning of breaking generational curses for my family,” the victim’s mother said in her impact statement during sentencing.

ADA Clark stated, “I am thankful for the hard work of our District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit, law enforcement partners, SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center, WellStar, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Based on the sentencing today, Johnson will never be able to abuse another child again.”

Cobb County Courier policy on naming defendants

[The Cobb County Courier has a policy of withholding or redacting the name of suspects unless and until the person is convicted in a court of law or enters a plea of guilty. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty, and the internet has no effective way of removing reports of arrest if the person is exonerated. We do make exceptions in high-profile cases or charges against public officials where exoneration is likely to be as widely publicized as the initial arrest]

A conviction was achieved in this case, so it met the Courier’s criteria for identifying the defendant.