SALINAS –Gregory Lavell Johnson, 62 of Coalinga, has been convicted by a Monterey County jury as a sexually violent predator for 1980’s crimes, as defined by California’s Sexually Violent Predator laws.
Immediately after the jury’s verdict, Judge Andrew G. Liu ordered Johnson be committed to the Department of States Hospitals to participate in sex offender treatment. Johnson will remain there for an indefinite period.
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Johnson was first convicted of violent sexual assault in June 1985. He was convicted of raping Jane Doe, an adult female in Oakland, by using a firearm. He was sentenced to five years in state prison and was paroled for the offense in July 1988.
According to a press release, Johnson escaped the custody of the Monterey County Sheriff while awaiting extradition on an out-of-state warrant. Within hours, he committed a violent sexual assault on a 14-year-old male Monterey County resident.
Following a court trial in January 1989, Johnson was convicted of four forcible sex crimes and the escape by Judge Richard M. Silver. He was sentenced to 31 years in state prison.
Johnson was evaluated before his release and was deemed to meet the criteria for a sexually violent predator. He was tried under the state’s sexually violent predator laws in 2013, but the jury did not reach a unanimous verdict.
Before he could be re-tried, Johnson committed a drug-related offense while in custody in Fresno County. He was sentenced to state prison, and his SVP proceeding was obviated.
Johnson was evaluated again in 2020 before his release on the drug charges. He was deemed to meet the criteria for a sexually violent predator, which led to his current jury trial.