DNA links man to girl sexually assaulted on way to school, police say


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OREM — The results of a DNA test have linked a man to the February sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl who was walking to school, police said Friday.

Jayson Johnson, 26, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the girl when she was on her way to Cherry Hill Elementary school, according to Orem police Sgt. Matt Pederson. The girl ran to school and notified a teacher of the incident, and someone from the school contacted police, he said.

"It's a person who wasn't on our radar as far as the investigation went," Pederson said. "We had knocked on his door, but he had never committed any kind of sexual offense and been caught in the past."

Police said the girl would have been walking in the area of 1650 South and 400 East at around 7:50 a.m. on Feb. 5. The man took her to a nearby church parking lot where they were hidden from view and then left after assaulting her.

"She was approached by a man who told her she couldn't go through the gate she was about to walk through, grabbed her by the backpack and said ‘here, I'll show you the way,'" Pederson said.

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The girl was able to provide a description of the man to investigators and was given a forensic physical examination, he said. The exam was sent to the state crime lab and processed.

In the meantime, Pederson said officers knocked on doors and worked with the community to follow any leads they could find. The results of the sexual assault kit came back from the crime lab two days ago.

Johnson was an exact match in the DNA database for the DNA recovered from the exam, Pederson said. Johnson's DNA was in the database because he had previously committed felonies for burglary and theft, he said.

"Without the great work done by the children's justice center when they did that forensic exam on that girl — and her bravery to actually go through the exam, which is very embarrassing and invasive — we wouldn't have ever got this guy unless he came in and confessed," Pederson said.

Once the DNA was matched to Johnson, police obtained a warrant to search his house. They found clothing that matched the description the girl gave investigators, Pederson said. They also found shoes that matched a distinctive sole pattern left in the snow at the crime scene, he said.


It's a person who wasn't on our radar as far as the investigation went. We had knocked on his door, but he had never committed any kind of sexual offense and been caught in the past.

–Matt Pederson


Johnson denied committing any kind of assault when he was interviewed by police. However, Pederson said he believes most of what Johnson told investigators during three hours of interviews were lies.

"We followed up on the alibis he was able to provide and they were found to be false," he said. "We interviewed the person (living in his home) and she kind of destroyed his alibi and actually put him in the same shoes that we were looking for, in a grey hoodie and in hat, that morning outside of her apartment."

Police have notified the girl's family of the arrest. Pederson said Johnson was arrested on suspicion of committing three felonies — rape of a child, aggravated sexual abuse and kidnapping of a child. He is being booked into the Utah County Jail.

"We've very ecstatic for the community and for this young girl who can now start to move forward knowing that her assailant is in custody and will likely stay there," he said.

Pederson said Johnson's arrest is the first step of an ongoing investigation. Police will be looking into Johnson's past to see if he has any connections to similar cases, Pederson said.

The DNA database that assisted police in the arrest of Johnson is a work in progress. It was just this year that lawmakers gave the go-ahead to expand it.

Under the [new law](<http://le.utah.gov/~2014/bills/static/HB0212.html >), a person's DNA is collected when they are arrested, and not just after they've been convicted of a crime. Utah State Majority Leader Stuart Adams helped push that bill into law. He said this case is a sign that the law is "absolutely" working.

"Can you imagine the trauma of the families? And can you imagine the real thing about being able to collect this DNA and be able to have it take this man off the street?" Adams said.

Under the new law, if an individual is not convicted, that person can request their DNA sample be removed from the database.

Contributing: Dave Cawley

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