Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Johnson checked in at Pocatello prison

Rape allegation still under investigation


By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

From now until the day she dies, Sarah M. Johnson will bear the number 77631.

On Thursday, July 7, she was anointed with the digits when she arrived at her new home in Pocatello, a prison where she will live out the rest of her still-young life.

Johnson, 18, was sentenced last month to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She was convicted in March of shooting and killing on Sept. 2, 2003, the two people who gave her life: her mother, Diane, and her father, Alan. The family, including Johnson's brother, Matt, lived in Bellevue.

By several accounts, Johnson's arrival at the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center was typical. She was checked into Unit 4, called a Regional Diagnostic Unit, where new inmates are processed and screened for psychological, medical, or drug and alcohol problems. It is also where pertinent information, like next of kin and emergency contact numbers, are filed.

The typical inmate stay in Unit 4 is two to three weeks, said Greg Loveland, a prison psychosocial rehabilitation specialist. The initial processing will help determine where in the prison an inmate will be housed.

"Because we're the reception and diagnostic unit, they're housed here until there's movement somewhere else in the facility," Loveland said. "She hasn't really been here long enough to do much assessing."

When processing is complete, Loveland will have built a case file on Johnson. It will include, among other things, recommendations about schooling, drug and alcohol counseling and psychological counseling. For Johnson, who was a junior in high school at the time of her arrest, attaining a high-school equivalency will certainly be an option, Loveland said.

"They have the opportunity, but they're not required," he said.

Johnson would have graduated from Wood River High School this year.

But she may already have restarted her schooling, according to the young woman's defense investigator, Patrick Dunn.

Johnson told Dunn this week she has started studying for her GED and added that she is "looking forward to her appeal." If successful, such an appeal could mean Johnson's new numerical moniker and razor-wire-fenced home are not lifelong after all.

As things stand, they are.

According to Loveland, Unit 4 contains between 48 and 50 inmates who will be filtered into the general prison population. The Pocatello Women'� Correctional Center houses about 300, all-female inmates. The prison contains women on all levels of custody, from "community" to "close custody," meaning low-level to maximum-level security.

"We've got everything in here from DUIs to murder one," Loveland said.

While Johnson's passing into the state correctional system appears to have been smooth and relatively ordinary, an ongoing investigation into the time she spent at the Blaine County Jail is anything but.

The Blaine County Sheriff's Office confirmed last week that it asked for an independent investigation into the time Johnson spent at the jail.

"... Sarah may have had sexual contact with another inmate in 2004, while being housed in the Blaine County Jail," according to the press statement issued by Blaine County Lt. Greg Sage, who manages the jail.

In comments made last week, Dunn was much more direct. He contended Johnson, then 17 years old, was raped while in the jail's custody. He also contended that Blaine County knowingly housed the teen with adults to procure information from her.

"Sarah was extremely vulnerable, and they put her in an environment where she'd be exploited. This was in total violation of state law," Dunn said last week. "In this particular case, Sarah is a victim. She was under control and custody of Blaine County, and they were responsible for protecting her."

Blaine County asked for the independent investigation into the alleged sexual contact on June 6, said Chief Deputy Sheriff Gene Ramsey. He added that sheriff's deputies began investigating the alleged sexual misconduct some months before.

Those early efforts, which began about the time Johnson's Feb. 1 trial began, were fruitless, Ramsey said.

"We heard rumors of some inappropriate action taking place. We heard that through a third or fourth hand," he said. "We did some follow up and went back to the source of the rumors. The rumor we heard was not the same rumor the person telling the story had.

"We documented that. We opened a case. We obviously didn't have a victim at that time."

And then, on June 6, the sheriff's office received a telephone call from a person working on a pre-sentence report for Johnson's pending sentencing. A follow-up investigation was launched.

"We came up with some more confirming information, and at that time we turned it over to the task force," he said.

Ramsey said Bannock County Detective Andy Thomas is the lead investigator on the Tri-County Sheriff's Association, which is heading the investigation. Thomas declined to discuss his involvement in the Johnson rape investigation, but dropped a few hints that confirmed the investigation.

At first, he would not even corroborate he is investigating Johnson's alleged rape charges.

But when he was asked when he would know, or release, more information he said, "That's the million-dollar question. We are working as hard and as fast as we can, but every time we turn one corner on the investigation, there's more people to talk to."

For the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, Ramsey said the independent investigation is "exactly what is needed."

"I can't speculate on time frames. I can't speculate on where they're going. We've given them all of our initial reports and reviews. It's up to them to come up with their independent investigation.

"Nobody more than myself wants to know the truth in this thing."

Ramsey also cautioned people not to jump to conclusions.

"Trying to fish through this when you're only half informed is not the way to go about it. I would hope that everybody involved in this thing would cooperate and get it out. This is an open book, and let's take a look at it."

Johnson has been made aware that her alleged rape charges were made public, Dunn said. But, he added, "I can't comment on what her reaction was."

Patti Murphy contributed to this article.

Correction

A Friday, July 15, article in the Idaho Mountain Express incorrectly stated the date that a defense investigator believed authorities first became aware of Sarah M. Johnson's alleged rape at the Blaine County Jail. The story should have stated defense Investigator Patrick Dunn believes a Blaine County detective began investigating the alleged rape during March 2005 when the investigator went to interview Johnson's first attorney, Doug Nelson.




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