A resolution of sorts has been reached in the case of a Davis man and former California Highway Patrol officer accused of molesting two young boys he reportedly gained access to through his church.
During a Yolo Superior Court hearing held late Friday afternoon, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office announced that it would conditionally dismiss its felony case against Justin Prentice Morejohn in lieu of the filling of a petition in juvenile court.
“It’s reflective of the fact that a great majority of this conduct, 75 to 80 percent, happened when he was a juvenile,” Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Mount said Monday.
He declined to specify the charges that would be contained in the juvenile court petition, which is confidential and the court proceedings closed to the public.
The adult case charged Morejohn, 33, with 10 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under age 14, citing acts that occurred between July 1999 and December 2001, when Morejohn was 18 to 20 years old. But according to Mount, the alleged conduct actually began years earlier, when Morejohn was 13.
It wasn’t until August 2011 that a report was filed with Davis police, however, leading to Morejohn’s arrest the following January.
Morejohn’s defense attorney, M. Bradley Wishek, could not be reached for comment Monday.
Mount said one of the two alleged victims was supportive of the juvenile court filing. One appeared in court Friday to provide a statement to Judge Paul Richardson, who had presided over the case, while the other submitted written remarks that Mount read into the record.
The criminal case was preceded by a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the two victims, identified only as “John Doe 5″ and “John Doe 6,” naming as defendants Morejohn, his parents and the Grace Valley Christian Center church located on County Road 98.
Church officials denied allegations of negligence, saying none of the alleged incidents involved church leaders, took place on church property or during church activities. The civil suit was dismissed in March 2013.
The criminal case proceeded for more than two more years, which Mount attributed to multiple complicated issues involved, including a court battle over access to the alleged victims’ Facebook accounts and Google search histories that extended well over a year.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene