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Matthew Johnson, left, and Emily Johnson, right.
Matthew Johnson, left, and Emily Johnson, right.
A Hardin County grand jury handed up indictments against a Lumberton couple alleging multiple counts of injury to a child, according to court documents provided by the District Clerk’s Office.
Matthew Thomas Johnson, 33, was indicted on six counts of injury to a child; and Emily Johnson, 30, was indicted on six counts of injury to a child and six counts of abandon/endanger child imminent danger for six separate offenses dated: Jan. 1, 2022; Jan. 1, 2022; June 25, 2022; Oct. 11, 2022; Oct. 22, 2022; and Oct. 28, 2022.
The indictments that were secured on July 24 indicate the couple is accused of abusing two children age 14 or younger for over a year.
The first two incidents allegedly occurred Jan. 1, 2022, with Matthew Johnson is accused of picking up a child by the arms, slamming the child against a door causing the doorknob to injure the hip area, and hitting the child with the metal part of a belt on the hip and leg.
The third incident was June 22, 2022, with Matthew Johnson accused of hitting a child multiple times with a wooden paddle on the arms, legs and buttocks.
There were three incidents in October 2022 – with the male suspect accused of hitting the child by throwing objects at their head and punching the child in the left arm on Oct. 11; hitting a child in the chest on Oct. 22; and punching a child in the forehead and arm on Oct. 28.
Emily Johnson, the children’s mother, is accused of hitting her child on five occasions. She allegedly hit a child with the metal part of belt on the hip and leg, and later picked up a child and slammed the child against a door on Jan. 1, 2022.
On June 22, 2022, Emily is accused of hitting a child multiple times with a wooden paddle on the arm, leg and buttocks. Oct. 11, 2022 Emily allegedly threw objects at her child, hitting the child in the head and punching the child’s left arm.
Emily is accused of, on Oct. 22, 2022, hitting her child in the chest, punching the child in the forehead and arm, as well as not taking the children to an emergency care provider as required of parents under the Texas Family Code.
Emily Johnson was arrested July 25 and Matthew Johnson was arrested July 26. According to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, bond was set at a total of $120,000 for Matthew Johnson and a total of $180,000 for Emily Johnson. Both bonded out on July 26.
Matthew Johnson is reportedly employed as an instructor teaching online summer courses. He has also worked at a local institute of higher learning and other secondary and higher institutes throughout Southeast Texas. The injury to a child indictments are third-degree felonies and the abandon/ endanger a child indictments are second-degree felonies.
An indictment by a grand jury does not mean that the person named in the indictment is guilty of any crime. It simply means that grand jurors felt that enough evidence existed to merit a crime.