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PROVO — A man who admitted last month to sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl as she walked to school is now asking to withdraw his plea.
Jayson Quade Johnson, 27, arrived in court to be sentenced Monday but instead asked to withdraw his guilty plea. Johnson pleaded guilty last month to sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony, as part of a deal with prosecutors. The charge carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges of child kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse of a child and witness tampering.
A new hearing has been set for Dec. 14, when 4th District Judge Darold McDade will decide whether to allow Johnson to withdraw the plea or will hand down a sentence.
As they left the courtroom Monday, the girl's father, Andrew Christensen, expressed frustration over the latest delay in the case while commending his now 13-year-old daughter as "the bravest soul I know."
"She has been placed in a situation that a child should never be in, and she has handled it with a grace far beyond her years," Christensen said.
"Should the judge allow this to go to trial, my daughter will be ready to send him straight to the only place he belongs and take back the fact that she is no longer a victim. (She will) show to the world that even an 11-year-old girl can take down a monster."
Johnson has pleaded guilty to stopping the girl as she walked to school on Feb. 5, 2014, and pulling her behind a nearby church. It was there where Johnson lifted the girl into a Dumpster and raped her. When the girl cried out, Johnson told her to tell no one what had happened and left her in the trash bin, according to the plea.
The girl immediately told a teacher upon arriving at Cherry Hill Elementary, 250 E. 600 South in Orem. DNA evidence eventually led police to Johnson, who lived just two blocks from the scene. He was arrested in June 2014.
The family now lives in Colorado, where Christensen said his once outgoing daughter is doing well but struggles to trust others and to make friends.
"She has had the most destructive thing that can happen to a human being happen to her, and that wasn't losing her life, she lost her innocence," Christensen said. "She lost that sweet part of us that we are given at birth where we believe the best in each other."
Defense attorney Greg Stewart, who took over representing Johnson only about five weeks ago, said Johnson had raised the issue of withdrawing his plea and was advised against it.
"I think the case was resolved in a very favorable manner," Stewart said. "With the plea he made he was looking at 25 years to life in prison, but he faces much harsher consequences if he goes to trial and loses on all counts."
While acknowledging that Johnson has the right to ask a judge to allow him to withdraw his plea, deputy Utah County attorney Jared Perkins raised concerns about the rights of the victim and her family to see the case resolved.
Johnson previously rejected a plea deal from prosecutors, who offered in September 2014 to dismiss additional charges if Johnson would plead guilty to rape of a child, also a first-degree felony carrying a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
If Johnson's plea is withdrawn, prosecutors will not make another offer for a plea deal but will proceed to trial, Perkins said.
Ashlee Farabee, an ex-girlfriend of Johnson, said she attended the hearing Monday to see justice served as the father of her two daughters was sent to prison. Instead, with the sentencing delayed and the possibility of the case going to trial, she left feeling angry and frustrated.
"I was expecting justice for that little girl, that's why I'm here," Farabee said, noting the sadness she felt seeing Johnson's victim in the courtroom. "I wanted to go up and give her a hug, and I wanted to tell her I was sorry for what happened."
Farabee said she was sick with worry when she first heard the accusations against Johnson.
"We have children together, we have two little girls, so I thank that little girl for her bravery," Farabee said, becoming emotional. "If she hadn't done that, it could have happened to (my daughters)."
Utah state court records indicate Johnson pleaded guilty to several charges dating back to 2008, including attempted criminal trespassing, theft, attempted burglary, forgery, burglary and theft by deception. He had no record of sexual offenses prior to the assault.
