Keishawn Johnson, 23, Sentenced for Kidnapping Two Girls at Gunpoint and Sexually Exploiting a Child

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

WASHINGTON — Keishawn Johnson, 23, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 204 months in prison in connection with kidnapping two girls and the sexual exploitation of a child, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

“Keishawn Johnson terrorized two children, hunting them and holding them hostage. Now he’s headed exactly where he belongs: federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “We will not tolerate this violence and disregard for human life. Anyone who preys on children will meet the same fate.” 

Johnson pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2026, before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to kidnapping while armed and sexual exploitation of a child. In addition to the 204-month prison term, Judge Kollar-Kotelly ordered Johnson to serve 10 years of supervised release.  

According to court papers, in September 2024, Johnson tricked a 15-year-old girl into getting into his car in the District by falsely telling her that her 14-year-old friend was inside. Johnson then held the teenager against her will and demanded she help him locate a missing firearm. When the teenager's mother tried to remove her from the vehicle at a gas station, Johnson drove away with the teenager still inside. Johnson later used the teen's phone to lure her 14-year-old friend to a location in the District, where he and an accomplice, Antoine Jones, pointed firearms at the younger girl and forced her into a vehicle. Police arrived as the abduction was underway, and the older teenager was left behind while Johnson fled with the younger girl. 

Johnson held the 14-year-old against her will overnight, driving her to multiple locations in the District and Maryland while continuing to search for the firearm, and assaulted her during that time. Police located Johnson again the following afternoon; he fled with the 14-year-old still in the car and crashed the vehicle before running from the scene on foot. Law enforcement recovered the girl at that time. 

Investigators also recovered a phone containing video Johnson had recorded weeks earlier showing him sexually abusing the 14-year-old girl. 

At the time of the kidnapping, Johnson was on probation in two Maryland cases involving theft, burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, and faced a pending burglary and grand larceny case in Fairfax County, Virginia. 

Jones, Johnson’s accomplice, also pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2026, before Judge Kollar-Kotelly, to kidnapping while armed. Jones was sentenced to 114 months in prison. 

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office.  

This case was investigated by FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Burrell. 

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.