Coast man admits to molesting child. She was 5 at the time of the assault.

A Gulfport man was sentenced to 13 years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawfully touching a child.

Harrison County District Attorney Joel Smith said in a news release that Edrick Johnson, 49, pleaded guilty to a sex crime charge from more than a year ago.

Smith said Gulfport police responded to disturbance at Parkview Apartments on Jan. 11, 2017. When police arrived, they found the mother of the victim confronting Johnson.

The child’s mother said her daughter, who was 5 at the time of the assault, told her that Johnson had molested her while she was staying at a relative’s house. Johnson was a friend of the family, Smith said.

A forensic test performed on the child solidified her story, Smith said.

Johnson was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Christopher Schmidt.

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This story was originally published August 22, 2018 at 10:37 AM.