Crime & Safety
Man Convicted In 1989 Sexual Assault Case Declared Sexually Violent Predator
He was re-evaluated in 2020 before his release from a separate sentence, leading to the current case, according to prosecutors.
MONTEREY COUNTY, CA — A Monterey County Superior Court jury has found a man convicted in a 1989 violent sexual assault case to be a sexually violent predator, prosecutors announced this week.
Immediately after the Tuesday verdict, Judge Andrew Liu ordered Gregory Lavell Johnson, 62, of Coalinga, committed to the California Department of State Hospitals for an indefinite period of sex offender treatment, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.
Johnson was convicted in 1985 of raping a woman using a firearm in Oakland. He was sentenced to five years in prison and was paroled in 1988, a press release issued by prosecutors Thursday noted.
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While awaiting extradition for an out-of-state warrant, Johnson escaped the custody of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office and committed a violent sexual crime on a 14-year-old male victim. He was sentenced to 31 years in state prison for four forcible sex crimes and the escape, prosecutors added.
Johnson was previously tried under California's Sexually Violent Predator law in 2013, but a jury could not reach a verdict, the District Attorney's Office said.
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He was re-evaluated in 2020 before his release from a separate sentence, leading to the current case, according to prosecutors.
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