William Eugene Johnson, 38, of Howell — fired from 2|42 Church in Brighton in September 2024 after placing a video recording device inside a unisex restroom — was sentenced Thursday to a minimum of 68 months and a maximum of 20 years in prison by Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Matthew McGiveny.
In April, Johnson pleaded guilty to 15 charges: one count of child sexually abusive activity; two counts of possessing child sexually abusive material; seven counts of using a computer to commit a crime; one count of tampering with evidence; and four counts of surveilling an unclothed person.
A church staff member had found the video recording device in a bathroom of the church’s Brighton campus at 7526 Grand River Ave.; that particular bathroom was intended for use by church staff and volunteers, and is not readily accessible to the public. Johnson admitted to church leadership that he had placed the video recording device in the bathroom; he was immediately fired, and 2|42 Church leadership immediately contacted the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives learned that Johnson confessed to 2|42 church leadership to placing the camera in the bathroom with the intent of recording individuals without their knowledge. A search warrant was executed at Johnson’s home by detectives, and all electronic devices were seized.
Johnson was then arrested at his home and lodged at the Livingston County Jail. While being interviewed by detectives, Johnson admitted to placing the camera in the church bathroom, and said that he had done so intermittently for the past two years, targeting specific individuals known to use that specific bathroom.
Thank God he is going to jail. What a horrible thing to do to someone. Such a violation of human dignity.
William Johnson did some pretty bad things. He violated a sacred trust in a place where people come to shield themselves from the horrors we face in our world today. People who had put their trust in William were stripped of their privacy and exposed in a horrific way.
Williams’ life is an object lesson for us. His detestable sin is out in the public arena for all to see. The comment above suggests that this guy will never see the light of heaven, or for the matter, forgiveness. Yet which one of us can throw the first stone, which one of us would dare think that our sin is any less abhorrent to God than Williams.
In Romans 11 there is a verse that suggests that we are consigned to disobedience so that we might know God’s mercy. For William, he is going to have years to contemplate his sin before God and God alone. Like David in Psalm 51, he can reach out to God and find forgiveness and a cleansing that is restorative.
We should strive to act justly, to love Mercy and to walk humbly with God. Micah 6.8. William will get the opportunity to know the depths of God’s Mercy like most of us will never. Let us never think we are any better than the person next to us.
That look one gets when Jesus says, “Go away. I do not know you.”