Grand Lake man gets bail in luring case

A young Grand Lake man who was arrested in mid-february on allegations of using the internet to try to sexually exploit a girl was granted bail Tuesday in Dartmouth provincial court with the Crown’s consent.

John Graham Johnson, 19, is charged with arranging to commit a sexual offence against someone under the age of 16 and internet luring.

Police allege the offences happened in September 2023.

Johnson was released on a $4,000 bail order with three sureties and placed on house arrest at a home on Highway 2 in Grand Lake.

He must remain on the property at all times, except for medical emergencies or appointments, legal commitments and scheduled visits with his children. He’s also allowed to leave the property for four hours every Saturday for the purpose of attending to personal needs.

Any time Johnson is away from the address, he must be in the “immediate presence” of one of his sureties, his bail order says.

Judge Amy Sakalauskas prohibited Johnson from contacting or being around anyone under the age of 18, except for his kids, and ordered him not to attend any parks, playgrounds, schools, daycares, recreational centres and other places where persons under the age of 16 are likely to be present.

Johnson is also banned from having contact with the complainant and another Crown witness and from being within 150 metres of their home, school or workplace.

In addition, he cannot possess any firearms and is not to have a cellphone or any device capable of connecting to the internet, except for doing online banking when supervised by a surety.

“If there is an internet-capable device in the residence of the sureties or in the presence of the sureties, you shall have no access to them at all,” the release order states.

Johnson’s charges will be back in court June 5 for election and plea.