MSU Signee Steffan Johnson Arrested

Submitted by SWFLWolverine on April 30th, 2021 at 1:18 PM

Mike Damone

April 30th, 2021 at 1:29 PM ^

This is serious stuff, he probably won't be allowed to live on campus. 

Luckily - he will fit in perfectly with the folks at Cedar Village apartments. 

Mojo Hall

April 30th, 2021 at 1:54 PM ^

He'll probably get the Austin Robertson treatment - they will still admit him, but he will have a couple extra conditions like having to report directly to the head coach every week and agree to stay away from frat parties.

MGoStrength

April 30th, 2021 at 2:04 PM ^

Steffan Johnson, a cornerback recruit committed to Michigan State, has been arrested and charged with extortion and directing or promoting sexual performance by a child. Johnson, who is 18 years old, is reportedly in jail after allegedly threatening a girl in Florida with the publication of a sexual video that was recorded when she was 15 and he was 17. 

This clearly really bad judgement to not only a) video another person performing oral sex unless you have their expressed consent, but b) to threaten to publish the video if they don't reciprocate your sexual advances.  That said, I also am not a big fan of referring to teenagers as a "child". 

Adolescents are not children as evidence that they have gone through puberty and are physiologically capable of producing offspring.   Fifteen year olds may not have fully matured brains, but neither do 21 year olds.  Neither age group are children.  I'm also not a fan of acting as if 15 year olds don't regularly engage in sex with 17 year olds.  While I wouldn't recommend it my own teenage girl if I had one and I would also be sure to educate my own teenage guys if I had them to be thoughtful, respectful, and safe when considering sex of any kind, particularly with younger teenagers, engaging in sexual activity with a guy two years older and/or engaging in sexual activity as a teenager is hardly unusual and seems silly that it is illegal IMHO.  Human growth and development is a process and there is no magic that happens at age 17.  Physiologically capable teens should be legally allowed by law to engage in whatever sex they and their parents chose to allow.  That part should not be a legal issue IMO.  The taking and/or publishing of the act without the user's consent is another story however.

bronxblue

April 30th, 2021 at 2:26 PM ^

I'm not going to wade too deeply into the age-of-consent...thing...going on in this discussion, but it's pretty clear the issue here is that he tried to force her to kiss him (and I assume engage in some other activities) and when she said no he threatened to post the video of their previous, seemingly consensual, sexual act.  Florida has a revenge porn statute, which could perhaps apply here as well depending on his actions, but this feels like one of those holder charges where it's clear the victim is under age and his behavior was threatening so that was enough to arrest him.  Laws in these areas (esp. online/digital crimes) are historically lagging behind the nature of the crimes, so this might have been the best they could charge him at the moment.

He's not being charged with having sex with a 15-year-old; he's being charged with threatening her because she said no to him.

 

MGoStrength

May 1st, 2021 at 12:45 AM ^

I'm not going to wade too deeply into the age-of-consent...thing...going on in this discussion, but it's pretty clear the issue here is that he tried to force her to kiss him (and I assume engage in some other activities) and when she said no he threatened to post the video of their previous, seemingly consensual, sexual act.

I agree with that as I noted in my post.  Since I was negged quite heavily and you felt the need to reply despite the fact that we agree on the issue, you clearly disagree with my other comments.  So, why is a 17 year old capable of making this decision but a 16 and 364 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes year old is not?  These are nuanced psychological, physiological, developmental, and cultural issues.  They are not cut and dry for everyone based on arbitrary ages.  So again my point is, teenage sex is not uncommon, nor is girls having sex with guys two years older.  And, adolescents are not children.  So, those additions to the story serve one purpose, to sensationalize the story to make it more interesting, which I disagree with.  The story has merit and is quite repulsive on its accounts which we all agree one, so they can get rid of the fluff.

1WhoStayed

April 30th, 2021 at 2:48 PM ^

MGoStrength didn’t write anything perverted. I agree with him on the “child” point. A 17 year old having consensual sex with a 15 year old isn’t inherently wrong. So the headline using “child” is misleading at best.

Is he a piece of shit for threatening to show the video to others in order to get something? Yes. As MGoStrength agreed.

KBLOW - you suck. So I guess that means your username checks out!?!?
 

MGoStrength

May 1st, 2021 at 2:05 AM ^

Who knew MGoStrength was really Matt Gaetz?

I'm really disappointed in your comment.  I'm even more disappointed by how many people upvoted your distasteful comment.  There is a difference between a discussion of theory and what you chose to do in your life.  While I may not think the it's appropriate to legally prevent a 15 year old from having sex with a 17 year old, that doesn't mean that I would chose to engage in it myself.  In fact, I said the opposite.  To some degree this blog is entertainment and we all post things from time to time for a laugh, but your comment goes past the line as does its support.  I hope the mods take some sort of action here.  

MGoStrength

May 1st, 2021 at 4:05 AM ^

I take it you don't have children. But you are a teacher. I hope you take your duty as a mandatory reporter more seriously than your post suggests you do. 

Either you don't understand adolescent behavior, statutory rape, mandatory reporting, or all of the above.  One, being a mandatory reporter is more about abuse, generally by adults to children.  Two, statutory rape is intended to punish adults having sex with children, not teens having sex amongst themselves.  Three, age of consent is interpreted in many places as mental or functional age rather than chronological age and varies from state to state.  A study in 1995 revealed that 50% of US teenagers had sex before age 16.  It is estimated that there are more than 7 million incidents of statutory rape every year. However, it is clear that most incidents are not prosecuted and do not lead to arrests and convictions.  Clearly this is a nuanced cultural and developmental issue that is not easily dissected by the number 17.  I take it you do have children.  I hope you take your role as a parent with a little more thoughtfulness, depth, and nuance beyond black and white and you teach your kids how to make informed decisions.

MGoStrength

May 1st, 2021 at 2:30 AM ^

Yes, a 15 year old is a child.

What evidence to you have to support this claim?  Is a 19 year old college student or guy fighting in a war also a child?  They are adolescents too.

Cleary you either don't understand childhood and adolescent development, or if you do you are ignoring it.  Adolescents are not children.  Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood.  Early adolescence is 10-13, middle adolescence is 14-17 (which includes both ages in question).  Late adolescence is 18-21.  Children do not have public hair, breast development, are not capable of producing the requirements for offspring, etc.  It also occurs 1-2 year earlier in females than in males.  It is natural for teens to become interested in sexual relationships.  There is still quite a bit of brain development between a teenager and an adult, but this continues well beyond the age of 17.  The pre-frontal cortex, which handles complex decision making and is capable of understanding consequences is generally not fully developed until the mid 20s.  So, please tell me why your magic number is 17 for everyone regardless of gender when we know females develop faster than males and why you believe a 15 year old female is a child?

bronxblue

April 30th, 2021 at 2:14 PM ^

Johnson, who is 18 years old, is reportedly in jail after allegedly threatening a girl in Florida with the publication of a sexual video that was recorded when she was 15 and he was 17. He faces accusations of threatening "to injure the reputation" of the victim by posting the video to social media.

It makes you a particular piece of shit to think the best way to get back at someone who hurt you romantically to show others the video you made of the two of you having sex.  

BradyIsNumberT…

April 30th, 2021 at 3:23 PM ^

I live in Sarasota I've seen him play a couple times he is a baller.  My kid says he is not a dick and everyone is surprised by this but my kid also reports the girl was playing him and he got emotional.  To say the least.  But if rumors are correct he did not distribute to anyone - that they know of anyway.  And this is not a violent offense so at this point he pleads to something and still gets his scholarship at MSU.  I bet.

SWFLWolverine

May 1st, 2021 at 11:16 AM ^

This is interesting. The girl is from North Port, so I would be interested in how your kids, who live 30+ miles away even know her. Or are they depending on heresay? I am sure those close to him are going to try to paint him as a victim.

I think most kids would be shocked to to find out a kid they know would do that. How many kids do you know that would do something like that? Also, it is a crime for him to even have that video whether she consented to it or not.

I, too, know the kid, and while in my interactions with him he seemed nice enough, that does not preclude him from being a scumbag.

One last thing that might be of interest, if I remember correctly,  he is a cousin of Karan Higdon.

StephenRKass

April 30th, 2021 at 6:07 PM ^

I'm ok with being negged to oblivion, but I really don't feel schadenfreude. It just is a combination of sad and reprehensible. I've known many good people who went to MSU or OSU. It is great for Michigan teams to have a solid culture, but that hasn't always been the case. When I was a student, the men's basketball culture was not very "healthy." Bill Frieder was no John Beilein. We can be extremelly thankful for both John Beilein and Juwan Howard, and also for most of the football coaches. But while I love Michigan, that doesn't automatically confer moral superiority.