Portsmouth native Lorna-May Anslow first met Joseph Johnson in May 2014 when she was only 16, and he was 21. Since then, they’ve stayed in touch.
After finding she was pregnant, Lorna-May, who was 19 at the time, moved in with Johnson’s mother. However, when she learned that her boyfriend had been accused of having sex with a minor, things started to go wrong in her life. Their relationship ultimately failed as a result of this.
Once Johnson, now 24 and from Feltham, was found guilty and added to the list of sex offenders, she ceased being with him after initially supporting him. The occurrence changed her attitude toward the problem and her perspective. She finds it challenging to move past what happened.
She recalled saying, “I told Joseph he didn’t have to be involved if he didn’t want to. No pressure.”
She had anticipated a different response, but her ex was ecstatic to become a father. Since she didn’t want to give birth to the child alone, she discovered that her ex was returning to his old habits when he started DMing teenage females many months later.
Following a report by Lorna-May to the police, Johnson was given a two-year prison term with a 12-month suspension.
Johnson and the single mother met after exchanging messages on social media. “For me, it was love at first sight,” she recounted. Joseph was also friendly, attractive, and captivating. All of these characteristics make a spouse irresistible to the woman. The two consequently began dating.
“He always treated me like a princess and was a great gentleman. I thought I was the luckiest girl alive when we started dating seriously.” Four months later, Lorna-May found out she was pregnant.
Even though she knew she had feelings for the father, she couldn’t believe she was pregnant. Even though she had been unwell for weeks before the realization, she had never considered becoming a mother. She was astounded and questioned whether she and the father were prepared to become parents.
A few weeks after choosing against moving too quickly, Lorna-May experienced an unwelcome pregnancy scare. She required an early examination to determine whether the baby was growing in her fallopian tube.
Lorna-May had intended to have the baby aborted, but after some thought, she decided she wanted to keep it. Even though the infant was healthy and developing regularly, she was concerned about losing it. She realized that Joseph, the father, was ecstatic about the idea of being a father after talking to him about it. As a result, she changed her heart, and they chose to keep the child.
“Even though I would have never allowed Joseph to stay with me, I was thrilled since I didn’t want to raise this child alone.”
So that the couple could spend more time together before their kid was born, Lorna-May moved in with Johnson’s mother. Despite being pregnant, Lorna-May cleaned Johnson’s room while he was at football practice. The two frequently discussed what life would be like after they had children.
She found many documents packed into a carrier bag while organizing the items in his wardrobe. After reading them, she had nausea.
Johnson was accused of engaging in sexual activity with a minor. The data showed his texts with a 14-year-old right before Lorna first met him. She acknowledged, “As I thought about what this meant for us—for the baby, my gut gripped tight. Is it possible that I knew Joseph, who had experienced so much so quickly?” said Lorna. “It made me doubt everything.”
When Lorna confronted him about the girl he had been seeing, she was waiting for him to get back from playing football. She said he reassuringly explained that it was a woman he had seen before they met and that he “didn’t anticipate getting penalized for it” because it was an error.
He admitted his extreme immaturity at the time, but Lorna claims he claimed to have matured for her and the child. “I truly wanted to think he was telling the truth. However, I was unable to confirm. I chose to do it and made an effort to prioritize the baby’s needs over the problem.”
The couple was thrilled to find they were having a girl at the 20-week scan. For a few weeks, everything seemed ideal, Lorna-May recalled. “We came up with a list of girls’ names that we adored, and as my pregnancy grew, so did my eagerness to meet our unborn child.”
Joseph, however, was required to appear in court in February 2015. “As we walked up to the court steps, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy despite my commitment to stand by him.”
In March 2015, Lorna-May, at last, decided that she could no longer remain with Joseph. She stated: “I had to consider my unborn child’s security. I didn’t want to partner with a sex offender to raise a child. I couldn’t even bear the thought of touching me.”
In May 2015, Grace was born to Lorna-May after a four-day labor. She exclaimed, “She was the most incredible thing I had ever seen.”
Less than a month later, June confirmed Lorna-worst May’s fears. She stated that she came across Joseph’s comment on a photo of a teenage girl while aimlessly browsing Instagram.
“I called the police right afterward to report him. The young woman consented to report the event when they approached her.” Thanks to a report from Lorna, Johnson was found guilty of violating his restriction in October 2015 and given a 12-month term with a suspension.
Judge Ian Pearson issued a sexual harm prevention order prohibiting him from contacting young girls online for ten years because he was “a risk to adolescent females.” Johnson was also required to join a five-year sex offenders registry.
In the meantime, Grace and Lorna-May met Connor, a 20-year-old man, and are now going on with their lives. “I’ll never forget the day I was cleaning out the closet and realized the father of my baby is a pedophile.”