Utahn with history of dismissed child sex charges found incompetent yet again

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man accused of numerous sex crimes against children from the last decade was once again Thursday found to be incompetent to stand trial — but this time by a federal judge.

Jonathan Jareth Soberanis, 30, was charged in federal court in September 2022 with distribution and transportation of child sexual abuse material. His competency was hotly debated during hearings in March when a string of experts testified as to whether he is competent.

Various medical evaluators over the years have made formal and informal diagnoses, including neurodevelopment disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum syndrome, dissociative identity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and serious childhood trauma.

Soberanis has made headlines over the years because of a pattern of being arrested for sex crimes against children, being charged, being found incompetent, then being released. Once he is released, police say he keeps committing similar crimes, and the pattern is repeated of him being charged, found incompetent, then released.

The March hearing appeared to be the first time forensic psychologists came to the conclusion that Soberanis was competent, given he be provided a number of accommodations for his mental disabilities.

Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Jolie Brams, who was hired by the defense to evaluate Soberanis, vehemently disagreed in that hearing. She said Soberanis was "basically unable to understand the complexities of the court system," had an "infantile nature," and "understood he was in trouble" only in a "very simplistic" way.

The Supreme Court, in 1960, established what is now called the Dusky Standard, requiring parties to have "sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding — and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him."

Related:

Experts clash in competency hearing of 30-year-old with history of dismissed sex charges

A string of cases involving sexual crimes against children have been dismissed against Jonathan Soberanis due to competency issues. Some experts now testify in federal court he is able to stand trial.

The charges themselves allege he used multiple social media profiles and apps, the dark web, and encrypted cloud storage to host his illicit photos and videos, which the Federal Bureau of Prisons psychologists say demonstrates a moderate level of executive functioning.

In a hearing Thursday, federal prosecutors argued the evidence in the case suggests his ability to take actions to evade discovery by police shows he is more competent than other evaluations have previously determined.

"This case in and of itself is very straightforward and limited to what actually did he have on his accounts and what images did he possess and distribute," prosecutor Carl Hollan said.

Hollan cited Soberanis' pattern of engaging with others on open social media, but then only sending incriminating photos via a secured, encrypted app. Combined with the fact that he solicits the child pornography from the other chat user before distributing his own and uses "front-facing accounts" for certain uses and hidden secondary accounts for porn-related uses, Soberanis is "compartmentalizing the criminal activity from accounts that can identify him," Hollan said.

Hollan brought up how in the past, Soberanis was accused of going into a changing room at a public recreation center and exposing himself to children. He was charged, but the charges were dismissed after he was ruled incompetent. Then he was released. After learning that Soberanis had been identified through surveillance footage and his credit card, Soberanis then paid in cash to enter a public facility at a later date and wore a hoodie to disguise himself, Hollan argued.

"(This) suggests that after finding this opportunity, he understood what he was doing was wrong and the need to conceal his identity so he couldn't be identified," Hollan said, adding that Soberanis would change his behaviors to avoid getting caught again.

Prosecutors pushed the idea that Soberanis is competent to stand trial with assistance from his attorneys if given accommodations such as extra breaks, splitting trial days to be shorter and having plenty of time to prepare for a trial.

Defense attorney Tessa Hansen argued Soberanis has a "complicated set of impairments" that have a profound affect on him, resulting in his inability to engage in rational understanding. In a trial, defendants have to engage with a variety of important legal concepts that require "multistep decisions," she said.

"Those are complicated abstract concepts that I don't believe Soberanis can understand. He does have to be able to work with me on his own defense and understand what is happening and make decisions that affect his constitutional rights," Hansen said.

In response to the argument that Soberanis' ability to use encrypted technology shows he is competent, Hansen said that is a "functional ability" that "doesn't translate to legal competence."

Similarly, Soberanis being competent at a job selling gems at a mall kiosk is "a world of a difference" from being able to extrapolate various channels of information and outcomes to make a decision, Hansen argued.

Hansen submitted an attorney declaration detailing her experience working with Soberanis and his difficulty in understanding the situation he is in, causing him to frequently ask repetitive questions as he tries to understand.

"There's some things the best lawyer cannot overcome. … There's no amount of time or work on my end that can fix those. I'm still trying to communicate what will happen next — he doesn't understand it," she said.

After the oral arguments, U.S. District Judge David Barlow spent more than an hour reiterating the facts and going through the evidence in the case during Thursday's hearing. Although it was "a very close call," he said, he ultimately ruled Soberanis is incompetent to stand trial.

Hansen's declaration was helpful in his decision as she is "in the most proximate position" to see Soberanis' rational abilities. He voiced his appreciation for the thorough reports from experts in the March hearing, but said Brams' report was "problematic" in its methodology and had too much advocacy to remain neutral.

While Barlow said he believes Soberanis has a "reasonable rational and factual understanding of the charges against him," his mental disorders impair his ability to assist and consult with his counsel in the matter.

"I think it's a close enough question that there's reason to believe competency restoration efforts could bear fruit," Barlow said.

The court ordered Soberanis to be hospitalized for "a reasonable time" not to exceed four months. Afterward, he can reevaluated and could potentially be deemed competent and proceed to trial.

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