Ex-EMT loses license in sexual battery case

photo Michael Lamar Johnston, 41, was charged with sexual battery and unlawful photographing in violation of privacy.

A former Hamilton County paramedic must give up his EMT license after he pleaded guilty to fondling a woman as she was being transported to a hospital.

Michael Lamar Johnston, 41, also was given a suspended two-year sentence Tuesday on a sexual battery conviction and will have to register as a sex offender, according to court records.

A judge will review his case Feb. 13 to determine whether he should be placed on probation and possibly receive judicial diversion, which would allow his crime to be expunged once probation is completed.

A presentencing investigation was ordered for Johnston.

The woman suffered from seizures and convulsions at a Fawn Drive home the day the incident took place, according to court records. It is Chattanooga Times Free Press policy not to name victims of sexual assault.

Accused of taking photos of the woman's nude body, Johnston was charged with sexual battery and unlawful photographing in violation of privacy. The photographing charge was dismissed, according to court records.

After the incident, the victim filed a lawsuit for $2.9 million against the county. No information was available Wednesday evening on the status of the lawsuit.

Johnston, who was fired on Aug. 9, 2010, had worked for emergency medical services since 1994, according to newspaper archives.

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