Indiana rape suspect nabbed in Kentucky
Published 5:18 am Tuesday, February 23, 2021
An Indiana man on the run for nearly a year, has been arrested in Kentucky.
Christopher F. Johnston, 30, was arrested by Kentucky State Trooper Mark Spencer at a residence in Thelma, Kentucky, late Friday afternoon.
Johnston is wanted on a rape charge out of DeKalb County in Indiana and is in the process of being extradited to Indiana.
A no-bond warrant was issued for Johnston on a rape charge on Feb. 27, 2020, by DeKalb County Superior Court II Judge Monte Brown.
According to a police affidavit filed in Superior Court II, Indiana State Police Detective S. Michael Carroll said he was sent to Parkview Noble Hospital on Nov. 3, 2019, in regard to an alleged rape.
The alleged victim told Carroll she was contacted earlier in the night by a man who later was found to be Christopher Forrest Johnston. The woman told Carroll she knew Johnston only through his work as a tattoo artist.
Through Facebook Messenger, Johnston asked the woman to “hang out,” the affidavit said.
The two later met at a bar. Johnston later invited the woman to his house and she agreed. At the time there was no talk of anything romantic or sexual, and the woman was simply offering him a ride, the affidavit said.
The woman drove Johnston to his home in Butler, and went inside the house to hang out with him, Carroll said in the affidavit. Once inside the house, Johnston kissed the woman and it quickly turned aggressive. The woman alleged that Johnston started to take off her clothes and had his hand on her throat. The woman reported that she said “no” and continued to say “no” even after Johnston forced her to have sex.
Investigators later located Johnston and discussed the incident. Johnston said he did meet with the woman at the bar, they did go to his house and that they did have sex. Johnston denied that the woman said “no” and gave different details when it came to who started the sexual acts.
Since the allegations, Johnston changed addresses. Investigators were led to Tennessee and eventually to Kentucky before arresting Johnston.