LAKEPORT — David Anthony Calvin Johnson was in custody and appeared at the Lake County Superior Court in Lakeport for a recent master calendar call, he has been charged with two counts of oral copulation (with a victim under 10 years old) among other charges, according to authorities.
During the hearing, defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman stated he was not sure why the preliminary hearing was set for a Wednesday and requested that the case be continued to a Monday calendar.
Last month, Hauptman requested the matter be continued by a week as there was outstanding digital discovery. Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff stated he would handle the discovery issues and during a previous master calendar call hearing, Hauptman was provided discovery and the continuance was granted by the court.
In addition to two counts of oral copulation with a minor, the defendant has been charged with harmful material sent to minor, four counts of lewd acts (with victim under 14 years), annoy/molest child under 18 years and indecent exposure.
The charges stem from an incident in January when Clearlake Police Department officers, assisted by the Newark Police, arrested a 31-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 10. An investigation into the crime was conducted by officer Perreault of the CPD at the beginning of this year.
According to the CPD, David Johnson, now 32, from Newark, was identified by law enforcement as a suspect. The case was turned over to Detective Ryan Peterson who conducted the additional investigation.
The case was then sent to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office which requested a warrant for Johnson’s arrest through the Lake County Superior Court. Clearlake Police officers requested the assistance of the Newark Police Department with locating and arresting Johnson.
In January, Johnson was placed under arrest for the warrant at his home and booked into the Santa Rita Jail. Detective Ryan Peterson took Johnson to the Lake County Jail where he was booked the next day.
In February the defendant pled not guilty to all counts and he denied the special allegations.
As of now, the preliminary hearing has been continued to April 29 at 8:15 a.m. in Department 3.
The defendant is ordered to be present.
Department officials noted that they would like to remind the public that sexual assault survivors can call and receive crisis intervention counseling free of charge, which can include explaining legal and medical options, or providing referrals for other useful resources.
If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the Lake Family Resource Center Rape Crisis Center at 1-888-485-7733 or the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251 which are available 24 hours a day.
