Giovanni Johnson Found Guilty of Kidnapping, Raping College Student

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Giovanni Johnson guilty of Armed Burglary; Kidnapping with a Firearm; and two counts of Sexual Battery for a 2021 home invasion and rape of a University of North Florida student. With the verdict, Johnson faces up to life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Jeb Branham will sentence Johnson at a later date.

Just after noon April 16, 2021, members of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a St. Johns Bluff Road South apartment complex where a college student reported being raped in her apartment. The victim was moving items downstairs when she noticed a man — later identified as Johnson — sitting on the stairs near her apartment. When she walked back upstairs, he was gone. She went back inside and heard movement in her bedroom. Johnson was there with a handgun and threatened to shoot her if she did not do what he said. Johnson demanded she lock the apartment and forced her into her bedroom at gunpoint where he sodomized and raped her.

The victim’s roommates arrived home, and Johnson ran from the apartment. One of the roommates chased him until Johnson threatened to shoot, then he jumped on a black-and-orange scooter and drove off. The victim was taken to the hospital and submitted a sexual assault exam. Officers recovered Johnson’s helmet from nearby bushes.

The next day, officers were investigating a crash on Beach Boulevard and saw a black-and-orange scooter. They stopped Johnson and detained him; a witness was able to positively identify him. DNA, including that on the helmet found at the scene, matched Johnson.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Terence Martin and Erin Wolfson.