WNC man guilty of statutory child rape, multiple child sex crimes, sentenced to 50 years

Editor's note: This story contains mentions of child sexual abuse.

BREVARD - A Transylvania County man has been found guilty of multiple child sex crimes including statutory rape of a child and has been sentenced to at least 50 years in prison.

After more than seven hours of deliberation over two days, a Superior Court jury on July 25 said that Johnathon Jessi McKinney, 38, of Sapphire, had raped, sexually assaulted and committed other crimes against two minors.

The trial spanned six days including closing arguments. It featured emotional and sometimes graphic testimony. Key to McKinney's conviction were two minors who accused him of forcing himself on them and engaging in various sex acts.

His parents, wife and other defense witnesses said McKinney, with a job in the family tree service business, was a hard-working provider ― and that he was kind and giving to his biological children, stepchildren and other children who often stayed at his home.

It is not clear yet if McKinney will appeal, said his Asheville-based attorney Jack Stewart, who declined further comment.

The victims and their family members left the court quickly and could not immediately be reached for comment. Assistant District Attorney Beth Dierauf, who prosecuted the case, credited especially the two minors for helping to put away a dangerous person. They testified despite years of fear and trauma, she said.

"The courage of those (children) was just phenomenal because it's really hard for victims in a small community like that to feel supported. It's really hard to stand up," Dierauf said.

McKinney's wife, Brittany McKinney, sobbed after the verdict. Outside court she refused to talk to media, but exclaimed that her husband was "an innocent man" and that his three children would be raised without a father.

McKinney was at first charged in April 2021 with 24 felonies related to the sexual abuse of three minors, starting as far back as 2013 with two of the minors who were less than 10 years old at the time. By the end of the trial the charges had been dropped to 17 after one of the minors testified they were uncertain about which part of his body McKinney used in some of the sex acts.

The jury found him guilty of 13 of the 17 charges, ranging from statutory rape to child abuse by a sexual act. They found him not guilty of any of the crimes that involved one of the three minors.

Prior to the sentencing Stewart, the defense attorney, asked Judge George Bell for "compassion," noting that because of the criminal charges McKinney had not been able to attend the funeral of his oldest child who was born with severe disabilities.

"There's been a lot of suffering in this case," Stewart said, adding that making his client serve consecutive sentences ― rather than simultaneous sentences ― was "overreach."

Dierauf, the prosecutor, said back-to-back sentences were warranted because of the "not only egregious but long-standing" nature of the crimes.

Bell gave McKinney two consecutive sentences, each ranging from 25 to 35 years.

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A child's testimony

Much of the trial focused on the standard to which the minors' testimony should be held, as they struggled at times to give dates and remember some details. The defense had argued that the the highest standards should be used since the result of the trial could be the loss of a person's liberty.

But the prosecution pointed to the science of children's psychology that shows their brains function differently than adults'.

"Children are not able to remember dates and times, especially children who are living through trauma," she said after the trial. A natural response to trauma is to bury memories of painful experiences, making it harder to recall events, she said, noting how the minor who experienced the most abuse struggled the most in testimony.

"In the end, I think that they gave sufficient detail so that it was clear it was not just something that was imagined. It was an actual memory in childhood," the prosecutor said.

According to previous Citizen Times reporting, McKinney had been arrested in 2016 in Transylvania County in a separate case and charged with felony indecent liberties with a child but later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

Previous reporting: Families of alleged rape, murder victims try to remove DA Greg Newman for 'unrepentant misconduct'

Court documents say in October 2017, the felony charge was dropped by then-District Attorney Greg Newman’s office, which then brought a new, misdemeanor charge of assault on a female against him. McKinney pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time served ― one day in jail.

McKinney was not required to register as a sex offender. However, the court ordered him to have a sex offender evaluation by a psychologist within 60 days, to stay away from the children involved in the case and not to be alone with any children under the age of 16 unless they were his biological children.

Newman was removed as DA for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties during a special hearing in April 2021, in part due to his mishandling of a different child rape case.

He was replaced in May of that year by DA Andrew Murray, who could be seen in court during the McKinney trial sitting in the audience and at times comforting the two child witnesses.

The family of one of the child victims filed a complaint with the sheriff's office in early 2021. A grand jury released indictments in April of that year. He was arrested two days later by Transylvania County sheriff's deputies.

Greg Newman: District attorney removed for 'willful misconduct' still getting state retirement payments

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC man guilty of statutory child rape, multiple child sex crimes