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Salem man found guilty of raping child, sentenced to more than eight years in prison

A Polk County judge Thursday sentenced a Salem man to more than eight years in prison after he was found guilty of raping a child under 12.

A jury in Polk County found Dillon Robert Matthew Johnston, 24, guilty of first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse.

Polk County Circuit Court Judge Rafael A. Caso sentenced Johnston to eight years and four months in prison, with 11 years and eight months of post-prison supervision. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender, court documents showed.

Johnston abused the child between 2016 and 2017 in Dallas, according to a news release from the Polk County District Attorney’s Office.

He also pleaded guilty in September to second-degree criminal mischief after breaking a window at the Polk County Jail and was ordered to pay $609 for damages.

-Ardeshir Tabrizian