Grand jury hands down charges in Ashland child exploitation case
Published 4:00 pm Thursday, September 19, 2024
- “Considering the extraordinary (and extremely prejudicial) circumstances facing criminal defendants in Oregon in direct violation of Gideon, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion,” the majority opinion said. Gideon v. Wainwright is the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found U.S. states must provide attorneys to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own.
A Jackson County grand jury was convened Tuesday to consider additional charges in the case of Craig Johnson, a 68-year-old Ashland man facing numerous charges of child exploitation, according to a release from the Ashland Police Department.
After reviewing evidence presented by investigators and the county district attorney’s office, the grand jury proceeded with various charges for the case, including 14 counts of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct, six counts of attempted using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct, two counts of first degree encouraging child sex abuse and one count of first degree invasion of personal privacy, according to the release.
Johnson is being held in the Jackson County Jail on a $250,000 bond on the charges of using a child in sexually explicit conduct and with no bail on the charges of invasion of privacy and encouraging child sex abuse, according to the jail roster.
Prior to the investigation, Johnson was a teacher at the Children’s World Montessori School in Ashland, as previously reported by Ashland.news.
The investigation has confirmed six alleged victims in the Ashland area to date. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact APD Detective Lacie Six at 541-552-2125.
