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Provo • A Monday sentencing hearing for an Orem man accused of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl walking home from school was postponed until next month so the defendant can attempt to withdraw his guilty plea.
Jayson Quade Johnson, 27, pleaded guilty in September to first-degree felony sodomy upon a child, which is punishable by a minimum mandatory 25-year-to-life prison sentence. But at the beginning of Monday's sentencing hearing, Johnson's attorney, Greg Stewart, told the judge that his client decided that day that he wanted to withdraw the plea.
For the now-13-year-old girl's father, Andrew Christensen, the delay was "more of the same." He said they were in a similar place a year ago when the defendant was contemplating pleading guilty, but he went back on that offer.
"He just showed his true colors again," Christensen said after the hearing. "The man's a coward and he's hiding behind trickery. He's a coward in the fact that he has chosen to not only prey upon children, but to try and deny the fact that he has done it."
Fourth District Judge Darold McDade set another sentencing hearing for Dec. 14. Meanwhile, Johnson's attorney must file a written motion by then explaining why his client wants to withdraw the plea.
Stewart said after the hearing that he is not sure why Johnson wants to take back the plea. He said the burden he has to prove is high: That his client's guilty plea was not knowingly or voluntarily made.
If McDade does allow Johnson to withdraw the plea, the case will likely go to trial. Deputy Utah County Attorney Jared Perkins said their previous plea deal — which dismissed charges of child kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse and witness tampering — would be off the table.
Christensen said if it comes to that, his daughter will be ready to testify against her alleged attacker.
"My daughter is the bravest soul I know," he said, his eyes welling with tears. "She's been placed in a situation that a child should never be in, and she's handled it with the grace of someone far beyond her years. And 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's no longer a victim. And show the world that even an 11-year-old little girl can take down a monster."
For now, Christensen said he plans to travel from their home in Colorado with his daughter to be at the December hearing. He said he also plans to be at every parole hearing for Johnson, if he is convicted.
Ashlee Farabee, who is the mother of Johnson's 7- and 3-year-old daughters, was also in court Monday to watch the sentencing. She said when she was "sick" when she heard about the crimes that her ex-boyfriend was accused of committing.
"I thank that little girl for her bravery," Farabee said. "Because if she hadn't done that [reported the crime], it could have happened to [my daughters]. I was expecting justice for that little girl. That's why I was here … He needs to spend the rest of his life in there [prison]."
Johnson admitted in plea agreement documents that on Feb. 5, 2014, he approached the then-11-year-old girl walking home from Cherry Hill Elementary School, grabbed her backpack and told her she couldn't "go that way" and had to go another way.
Johnson then took the girl to a church parking lot, where he put her inside a Dumpster and sexually assaulted her. He stopped the attack when she began to scream, according to court records. He then left, and told the girl not to tell anyone what happened.
The girl then ran back to the school, where she contacted a teacher who called 911.
Orem police Sgt. Matt Pedersen has said that DNA samples recovered from the girl, along with shoe prints discovered at the scene of the attack led to Johnson's arrest last June.