NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 16: (Photo by Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images)
This past Spring we wrote about a sex ring scandal involving members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. at Fort Valley State University in Georgia.
The chapter was suspended in May after allegations were made that a female administrator launched a prostitution ring as a way for new pledges to be able to afford initiation fees to become members of the sorority.
At the time, allegations claimed that the clients were politicians and businessmen.
That was correct…but there’s more.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a judge issued six warrants for the arrest of six men who were clients of the students who were essentially pimped out by Alecia Jeanetta Johnson, a 48-year-old former executive assistant to the Fort Valley State University’s president. Johnson was also the graduate advisor for the AKA chapter at the university.
The warrants are going to men across various industries.
- Ernest Harvey, 47, of Fort Valley, an assistant principal in charge of discipline at Huntington Middle School in Houston County.
- Kenneth Howard, 56, of Fort Valley, the city manager of Hinesville.
- Ryan Jenkins, 35, of Fort Valley.
- Charles Jones, 57, of Fort Valley, a former attorney for Fort Valley State.
- Devontae Little, 26, of Warner Robins.
- Arthur James Nance Jr., 46, of Cordele, the vice chairman of the Crisp County Board of Commissioners and a local pastor and mortician.
The men have been charged with pandering and solicitation of sodomy.
As for Johnson, she is facing six counts of pimping and six counts of prostitution. She was also charged with conspiracy to commit fiduciary theft for additional allegations that she conspired to obtain scholarship money from a student in 2015.
Johnson resigned in April, days before the investigation began.
The seven people who currently have warrants out for their arrest have until next Tuesday to turn themselves in to authorities.
Leadership at the university would not speak about student involvement or abuse in the prostitution ring
Officials at the university are also investigating allegations of misconduct and hazing at Fort Valley.
They issued this statement last week.
Today we learned that two former FVSU employees have been charged with illicit conduct. We appreciate the work of the GBI in conducting this investigation, which began in April 2018 when administrators received two separate reports alleging wrongdoing. The University System of Georgia (USG) in conjunction with FVSU began an immediate investigation in accordance with its policies. The USG notified Georgia’s Office of the Attorney General, and the case was ultimately referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
FVSU has promised its students that their safety and security is our first priority, and we fully support the application of the judicial process. We have consistently and aggressively worked with the University System of Georgia and law enforcement to ensure that anyone who allegedly puts our students at risk is investigated thoroughly and expeditiously, and have advocated for the most appropriate standards to be applied. While we cannot comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, we expect anyone who has compromised the trust of our students to be held accountable with all deliberate speed.
In addition to the investigation by the police and the university, Alpha Kappa Alpha also launched their own inquiry into the misconduct allegations. In the letter, the chapter’s privileges were withdrawn and disqualifying them from the participation in the sorority and all activities, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Johnson, through her lawyer, has denied all charges.
Her lawyer, Adrian Patrick said, “She’s not a pimp, and she’s not a madam-none of that. She’s not guilty. She did not do anything.”
