Convicted Richland Offender Says Steroids Made Him do It

A Richland man plead guilty in Benton County Superior Court this week to charges of recruiting and attempting to pimp out an underage girl for sexual purposes.

52-year-old John R. Abrams Jr. was first arrested in March of 2017 on attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in criminal activity, but those Federal charges will be dropped because he plead guilty to similar charges and others in Benton County Court. He had been under Federal indictment since July of that year.

Abrams, who will be formally sentenced May 15, worked as a network administrator at Trios Healthcare Systems. He entered an Alford Plea, which means he does not admit to the crimes, but does believe a jury would convict him if it went to trial. The result is he will likely face a sentence in the range of three years in prison.

Officials say he also engaged in sexual activity with the girl to "test" her before pimping her out, hence the assault charges.

His defense attorney had argued Abrams' testosterone therapy regimen led to over aggressive and sexually-stimulated behavior, leading to his crimes.

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