Female executive hit by satisfying karma after mounting sex campaign to try and destroy best friend's ex-boyfriend

By NIC WHITE, US SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER Published: 23:09, 6 April 2026 | Updated: 23:10, 6 April 2026 A prominent women's charity is selling its movie-famous home and overhauling its operations after its director was charged with a sex crime. Hope House Florida opened with great fanfare in Bartow, about 40 miles east of Tampa, in August 2024. The charity provides resources and a home for new and expectant mothers to stay during their pregnancies and the first few months after giving birth. Mothers, largely from underprivileged backgrounds, were housed in a 120-year-old Victorian-style mansion made famous by the hit 1991 film My Girl. But just 18 months after it opened, the seven-bedroom 7,300sqft house is empty and listed for sale at $1.25 million. Weeks before putting it on the market, Hope House announced it was moving away from providing a safe home for pregnant women and pivoting to other areas. The massive overhaul came soon after Hope House executive director Tara Johnson, 36, was arrested on sexual cyber harassment charges on October 27. Johnson's close friend Kristina Taylor, also 36, dumped her boyfriend last September, only to see him move on with another woman weeks later. Hope House executive director Tara Johnson, 36, was arrested on sexual cyber harassment charges on October 27, leading to the charity overhauling its operations  Hope House Florida opened with great fanfare in Bartow, about 40 miles east of Tampa, in August 2024 (pictured) but just 18 months after it opened, the seven-bedroom 7,300sqft house is empty and listed for sale at $1.25 million The meddling friend tracked down the new girlfriend and sent her the chat history between Taylor and her 45-year-old ex. The screen-recorded conversations included thumbnail-sized previews of the ex-boyfriend's penis and graphic videos of them having sex. The victim told the Daily Mail that Johnson and Taylor were facing two months in jail until he convinced prosecutors to be merciful, and they were instead offered a diversion program. Johnson's tenure as executive director was already controversial and the charity was beset with turmoil even before the house opened. Hope House Florida founder Jill Green was 'forced out' in June 2023, and Johnson then took over as the charity's boss, staff claimed to local media at the time. This was despite Green working for years to bring her dream to reality, including raising enough funds in just 30 days in 2022 to put a $551,000 offer on the house and convincing the previous owner to accept it over better bids. Former staff, volunteers, and residents reportedly claimed Johnson's short temper and lack of clinical experience made it a toxic environment. Residents told local newspaper Lakeland Gazette last April that they were 'cursed at for doing the wrong things, yelled at, degraded, and told they are worthless by Johnson'. Johnson was facing two months in jail until the victim convinced prosecutors be merciful, and she was offered a diversion program instead Johnson celebrated avoiding jail time with a lengthy Instagram post alongside this photo of her family, which alluded to her legal woes without mentioning them directly - and painted herself as the real victim A recorded conversation early last year between Johnson and one pregnant resident leaked to the Gazette included a heated argument between them. Johnson accused the young woman of not wanting to participate in the Hope House program and having a bad attitude about doing it, which she pushed back on. 'You're always not feeling good,' Johnson said loudly about a few activities the resident skipped, to which she replied, 'Well, I am pregnant.' Johnson continued: 'In my opinion as the executive director, so my opinion does matter here, I believe that you're doing the bare minimum. 'I need to see more participation from you before I spend $1,700 for you to go to school.' The pregnant woman disagreed with her assessment and accused Johnson of putting off her being able to study for her trade certificate since December. 'You always put somebody down when it comes to their dreams. Do you know how hard it was for me to [get into the course]?' the resident said. A former Hope House volunteer social worker, Ruthie Kimmons, wrote in a letter published by the Gazette that the woman was promised before she moved in that the course would be paid for so she could better provide for her child. Expectant mothers, largely from underprivileged backgrounds, were housed by Hope House in this 120-year-old Victorian-style mansion The house was featured in the hit 1991 film, My Girl, starring Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky (pictured on the steps of the house in the film) Kimmons claimed that after the recorded conversation, the resident went to the Hope House board, which then agreed to cover the cost. 'But before the end of that week she is served a seven-day eviction notice, shortened the following day by an email giving her 24 hours to get out,' she claimed. The Gazette reported that another young resident was forced out with minimal notice after she complained about how Hope House was run. Kimmons claimed that Johnson's way of running the charity led to numerous residents, staff, and volunteers leaving. They included beloved program director Debbie Kelly, whom insiders claimed was fired after she told Johnson she was leaving due to how it was operating. Hope House dismissed various complaints by staff, volunteers, and residents on social media as 'misinformation' and 'sharing of confidential information'. 'Unfortunately, some individuals continue to use social media to target our staff and spread false claims aimed at harming the woman and children we serve,' part of its statement in April 2025 read. 'As a board, we have reviewed these claims with the appropriate professionals and have found them to be unfounded.' Beloved program director Debbie Kelly (left), whom insiders claimed was fired after she told Johnson (right) she was leaving due to how the charity was operating Johnson showing off the renovations to the inside of the house when it opened in 2024 Johnson quit within hours of her arrest, which Hope House said at the time was 'to focus on personal matters'. Her lawyer denied to the Daily Mail that Johnson was forced to resign, though 'all parties were in agreement' with her doing so. 'She initiated her separation to minimize any potential collateral impact to the organization and the community it serves,' she said.  But by early this year the organization had still not replaced her, and announced the house would close. Hope House would instead become an affiliate of Hope House Colorado and pivot towards being a resource center for teen mothers aged 15 to 21, as Colorado is. 'Under this approach, Hope House would continue to provide community building events, case management, spiritual formation and individualized goal setting using the self-sufficiency rubric,' it said. 'Our name is not changing. Our board remains local and autonomous. What is changing is our capacity to serve more young women when they are ready to commit to a brighter future for themselves and their children.' Johnson will escape conviction and have her criminal charge dropped if she completes the diversion program, which includes good behavior and community service.  Through her lawyer, Johnson declined to comment on the case while the diversion was yet to be completed. 'She recognizes the seriousness of the allegations and is complying with the requirements of that process,' the lawyer said.  Kristina Taylor, 36, was arrested for sending a screen recording of her chats with her ex-boyfriend to Johnson, who forwarded it to the man's new lover Taylor's ex-boyfriend, 45, (pictured) moved on just weeks after she dumped him Johnson sent the new woman (pictured) the recorded conversations, which included thumbnail-sized previews of the man's penis and graphic videos of them having sex After Johnson found out Taylor's ex had a new girlfriend, she contacted her through Facebook and told her she 'had concerns about [his] character,' according to court documents. She told the new girlfriend of the allegations made in a restraining order that Taylor filed against her ex, and claimed he was still with Taylor when they started seeing each other, the Daily Mail understands. 'When [the new girlfriend] asked for proof of the allegations against [her boyfriend], Johnson then asked Taylor for proof,' court documents explained. 'Taylor then provided screenshots and pictures for Johnson to provide to [her].' Among those was a screen recording of some of the chat history between Taylor and her ex-boyfriend, including intimate photos they sent to each other. The X-rated images included thumbnail-sized previews of his penis and graphic videos of them having sex. Johnson admitted to police that she sent the video, but claimed she didn't know it contained the sex tape because she stopped watching after she saw a photo of Taylor's bare breasts, court documents explained. The man said his relationship with the new woman survived the sabotage attempt as he was up-front with her before they even started dating, but they had an amicable breakup months later for unrelated reasons.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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