THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996           TAG: 9609100242
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   29 lines

JUDGE DISMISSES MOLESTATION CHARGES AGAINST MAN WHO DIED

An 82-year-old man charged with molesting two step-granddaughters has died, and a judge on Monday dismissed the charges against him.

Circuit Judge Johnny Morrison dismissed two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of forcible sodomy against Donald G. Johnson, of the 500 block of Beacon St.

Johnson died last Tuesday of a heart attack, prosecutors said.

Johnson, who was indicted by a grand jury in April, was 55 when he allegedly molested one of his step-granddaughters. He was in his mid-60s when he purportedly took sexual liberties with her younger sister.

The victims, Lisa Goodell and her younger sister, Shelly Branch, said in earlier interviews that they were driven by a need to confront their abuser and bring him to justice. Both women have agreed to be identified by name.

Neither of the women, who live out-of-state, was present for Monday's hearing.

In an April interview, Johnson denied the charges: ``It's lies. They're after a dollar. Why did they wait 25 and 30 years before they . . . said anything? People will do anything for money.''

Prosecutors said Johnson had been suffering from a number of serious ailments and was being cared for by a relative.

KEYWORDS: SEX CRIME CHILD MOLESTATION DISMISSED CHARGES by CNB