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Friday, May. 02, 2008

Suspected molester from Riverbank described as 'gentle giant'

Not guilty plea entered at his arraignment

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The Riverbank man accused of sexually molesting three youngsters over the past 18 years was described Thursday as a "gentle giant" who was fond of giving candy to children.

Jerry Franklin Johnson, 56, made his first appearance in Stanislaus County Superior Court, where he was arraigned on four felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with children. A judge entered a not guilty plea for him.

All the victims were members of an Oakdale church at which Johnson was a member, and some were Johnson's family members, according to Stanislaus County sheriff's detectives.

Johnson was arrested during a traffic stop in Riverbank on Tuesday after sheriff's detectives gathered enough information to issue an arrest warrant. Authorities say the arrest followed reports by eight people who said they were abused as children by Johnson and that the abuse might have gone back 27 years.

Prosecutors could bring charges related to only three of the eight reports because of the statute of limitations, Deputy District Attorney Nate Baker said. The four felony counts involved what he called "substantial sexual conduct" that allowed prosecutors to press charges despite their not being reported to police previously.

Also "the fact that there are multiple victims is a factor," Baker said. "This is a case we are going to treat with our full attention."

The allegations came to light April 15 when a 7-year-old girl reported being abused to Oakdale police, said deputy Royjindar Singh, spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

During the investigation, a man and six women came forward and said they, too, had been molested by Johnson. All had attended the Church of Christ in Oakdale where Johnson had been a member, Singh said.

"This is so shocking to us," said Matt Trent, evangelist for the church. "This is not what we're about. It's been devastating to everyone involved."

Church started in 1986

Trent, called an evangelist or preacher rather than a pastor in the Church of Christ tradition, said he has worked "on and off with the church for the last 10 years." The church began in 1986 with about 30 people meeting at the Oakdale grange building.

In 1989, the church moved to Third Street. In 2005, it moved to its present location on Sierra Avenue and church members worship in a building once used as a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall and a restaurant. About 120 to 150 members attend services, held Sunday mornings and Sunday and Wednesday evenings.

Trent said the church didn't know about any allegations and took action quickly after hearing about the recent charges by the 7-year-old girl.

"We found out about it on Monday, the 31st of March," he said. "The next evening, we had a meeting of leaders. (Johnson) wouldn't meet with us, so on April 2, we withdrew fellowship from him. It's like excommunication. It's the official action of discipline of putting someone out of the church."

Trent said Johnson was not a leader in the church, nor was he in a volunteer role, such as a Sunday school teacher.

"He was kind of considered a gentle giant," Trent said. "I'm not sure how he went about doing what (he's accused of). He was just an extremely friendly person. He gave children candy and stuff like that, but it wasn't in the way that raised any suspicions.

"We're so ill-equipped to deal with this," Trent added. "We're sheep; we were taken advantage of by a wolf. We all trust each other and love each other."

No one told the church

Explaining why the alleged long-term abuse against youngsters in the church wasn't exposed earlier, Trent said no one reported it to church officials.