A panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court has upheld the decades long prison sentence for Anthony Chase Johnson, 33, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl for more than a year in the early 2010s.

Johnson, formerly of Union Township, claimed in his appeal a juror was known to him and the victim.

The appellate court rejected Johnson’s appeal in a 13-page opinion saying he waited too long to inform his trial attorney about knowing the juror.

“Because Johnson failed to raise this issue before the jury announced its verdict, we conclude no relief is due…” the appellate court ruled in upholding Johnson’s conviction on charges of rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault among other convicted offenses.

The jury convicted

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