Welcome to Michael Johnson’s world. A 22-year-old former college wrestler, Johnson lives in a world that includes infection with HIV. The St. Charles, Mo., resident tested positive for the AIDS virus in October, but that hasn’t prevented him from engaging in sexual relations with over 30 people in the interim without telling any of them he was infected.
St. Louis station KMOV notes that Johnson, who was arrested in October and charged with having exposed sexual partners to a lethal sexually transmitted disease, took his particular brand of sadism a step further by making video recordings of the potentially deadly encounters.
The hidden camera videos that show Johnson and his “victims” having unprotected sex were stored to a laptop but were not discovered initially. Now that their existence has been confirmed, prosecutors are now reaching out to prospective partners and making a special appeal to come forward.
Tim Lohmar, St. Charles County prosecutor, said that 32 videos show Johnson entering into intimate relationships with 31 unidentified people. The videos were shot over a four-month span and on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles.
“It’s safe to say that numerous of those videos were taken inside his dorm room,” Lohmar said. “We know that because we recognize the furniture.”
Lindenwood University school officials have said that they will assist law enforcement with identifying victims. It is not a matter only of their individual safety, Lohmar emphasizes, but of public safety as well.
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office requests that anyone who may have had an intimate relationship with Johnson or who may have information pertinent to this investigation contact the St. Charles Detective Bureau at 636-949-3330.
