How a friend suggestion on Facebook led one woman to track down her assailant

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — A woman helped police track down the man who sexually assaulted her after seeing a friend suggestion on her mother’s Facebook page.

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On Nov. 18, 2023, Altamonte Springs police responded to Blue Violet Way in reference to gunshots being heard.

When officers arrived, they located a woman who said she had no knowledge of the gunshots but told police that she was sexually assaulted inside a storage closet on Crimson Court.

The woman told officers that she got into a fight with the person she was living with, packed up her belongings and left the apartment.

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While she was outside the apartment, she could not find her phone and did have a way to call her mother for a ride, police said.

According to a police report, the woman saw a man standing near the building and asked to use his phone.

The man didn’t have a phone, but let the woman use his tablet to reach her mother, the report stated.

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After telling the victim to get close to the building to use the WIFI, the suspect, later identified as Anthony Markeis Jay Johnson, grabbed the woman, dragged her into the storage closet and sexually assaulted her, according to the report.

Police collected evidence and transported the victim to the hospital where a forensic interview and a sexual assault examination was conducted.

On Jan. 28, 2024, Altamonte Springs police were contacted by the victim who told police that she saw a man’s picture on Facebook matching the suspect who sexually assaulted her.

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The victim told police that she and her mother were looking through Facebook when they saw a friend suggestion of someone her mother may know. After looking closely at the picture, the victim told her mother that was the man who attacked her, police said.

According to the police report, the victim told police that she recognized his and the backpack straps he was wearing.

Police interviewed the 33-year-old Johnson on Feb. 15, 2024, who denied knowing or sexually assaulting the victim.

On Monday, after a thorough investigation and DNA evidence, police arrested Johnson and charged him with sexual assault and battery on person over the age of 18.

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