United States v. Johns
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
15 F.3d 740 (1994)
Dale Thomas Johns (defendant) lived with S.D. and her daughter C.D. for seven years, from when C.D. was 14 to 21. Johns, who practiced as a self-styled medicine man teaching Ojibwa spirituality, made C.D. his assistant and controlled her clothing, associations, and activities, slapping and yelling at her when she broke his rules. He taught her that spirits ordained his rule over her life and would harm her and loved ones if she disobeyed, and used that belief to compel sex. Johns was convicted of sexual abuse under 18 U.S.C. § 2242(1) and appealed, arguing the evidence didn't show he compelled sex by placing C.D. in a legally sufficient fear.
Whether the fear element of sexual abuse can be satisfied by a defendant placing the victim in fear of parties other than the defendant himself.