A Utah attorney who enticed and then had sex with a 14-year-old boy nearly two years ago when he knew he was HIV positive was sentenced Wednesday to probation and 90 days in jail.

Howard P. Johnson, 51, was charged with two counts of first-degree forcible sodomy and one count of a second-degree felony of enticing a minor over the Internet. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges of a third-degree felony of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and a class A misdemeanor of enticing a minor over the Internet in exchange for the dismissal of a first-degree felony sodomy charge.

Court documents state that Johnson used the Internet to entice the 14-year-old boy to meet him at his Salt Lake home in October 2003 to engage in sexual activities. When the teen arrived at the home, Johnson answered the door naked and then engaged in sex acts with the minor.

The minor reported the incident in March 2004, fearing that he might have AIDs or another disease, according to court documents.

Johnson told police officers at his home on March 3, 2004, that he was HIV positive. The officers then searched his home and office computers for the presence of child pornography. Court documents state that the computer searches produced numerous images of naked males engaging in sex acts, but all of them appeared to be adults.

Defense attorney John Caine said that 3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson didn't see Johnson as a predator.

"Mr. Johnson was not out trying to find someone," Caine said. "This young man was equally patrolling the Internet."

Caine suggested home confinement for Johnson instead of jail time because, he said. Salt Lake County does not have work release, which would have been ideal for Johnson during his 90-day jail sentence.

In court Wednesday, prosecutor Paul Amann argued for Johnson to serve one year in jail, which would have been the maximum sentence under Johnson's plea agreement with prosecutors.

Amann said that attempted homicide charges were considered because Johnson knowingly had HIV at the time of the sexual act. They were dropped because the victim took an AIDS test in March 2004 that was negative.

"I think that the judge made his ruling based on all the information that he had, and I'm not in a position to challenge that," Amann said.

Amann said Johnson has been an attorney for approximately 30 years and that his conviction could potentially lead to disbarment.

"If you've committed a felony crime that's considered a crime of moral turpitude, my understanding is that that is grounds for disbarment as an attorney," Amann said.

Johnson was also sentenced to 36 months probation and 100 hours of community service.

"It's going to be a difficult sentence for him," Amann said. "He's in jail for 90 days, he's probably going to be disbarred, he'll have to register as a sex offender and he'll have to go through treatment."

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E-mail: nclemens@desnews.com