Man Cleared of Ojai Valley Assaults

Flanked by friends and family, a smiling Jason Hawthorne was officially cleared Wednesday of committing a string of sexual assaults in the Ojai Valley when prosecutors dismissed charges against him and a judge declared him innocent.

The 21-year-old Casitas Springs man was silent during the brief court hearing, but afterward expressed appreciation to the family and friends who “got me through the anguish and humiliation and embarrassment that went with this false arrest.”

Prosecutors filed 24 felony charges against Hawthorne Jan. 18 after sheriff’s officials said they had “an overwhelming amount of evidence” to show he was responsible for attacks on four women between March and September of last year.

But the case fell apart two days later when genetic testing on evidence left by the assailant at one crime scene did not point to Hawthorne. He was immediately released from jail but remained accused of the crimes pending a court hearing.

Monday, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury issued a formal apology to Hawthorne and declared that DNA testing had “conclusively eliminated him as the perpetrator.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, Deputy Public Defender Gary Windom asked Municipal Judge Vincent J. O’Neill Jr. to make a finding of factual innocence in the case, which essentially is an acquittal.

O’Neill granted the request and ordered Hawthorne’s arrest file sealed for three years, at which time it will be destroyed if there are no civil lawsuits pending against him. The judge also ordered the Sheriff’s Department to notify any agency that was informed of Hawthorne’s arrest to destroy those records.

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth, appearing in court for the prosecution, did not object to the judge’s actions.

After the hearing, public defender investigator Michael Catanzarite said there were plenty of indications before the genetic testing that Hawthorne was not the right person.

For one thing, Catanzarite said, Hawthorne is seven inches taller than the assailant was reported to have been. Also, Hawthorne has never had a beard, and his pickup truck has never had a camper.

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Five people attended a lineup with Hawthorne and no one identified him as the assailant, Catanzarite said.

“There was nothing that was ever seized that was incriminating,” he said. “There wasn’t anything that they could tie into the crimes that was seized at his home. They had nothing and they never did.”

Henke-Dobroth said she could not comment on the evidence in the case because the investigation is continuing. Sheriff’s officials say they have another suspect, who is in jail on an unrelated matter, but have declined to identify him.

Although it may be weeks until final genetic tests come back on the suspect, Lt. Larry Robertson said preliminary genetic tests and physical evidence are all coming up positive.

“The investigation is extremely active,” he said.

Both Windom and Henke-Dobroth hailed the technology that exonerated Hawthorne.

“This is a really good example of the powerful evidentiary value of DNA testing,” Henke-Dobroth said. “It works both ways.”

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“DNA has always been good for acquitting an individual,” Windom said. “It will always be able to tell you that it’s not the person, and in my opinion it can never tell you if it is.”

Hawthorne refused to take questions from reporters after his brief statement, and he walked briskly from the courthouse, referring questions to attorney David Follin.

Follin declined to say whether Hawthorne will sue prosecutors or sheriff’s officials, but noted there are exceptions to the general protection that law enforcement officials have against such lawsuits.

“It’s not total immunity,” Follin said. “People do have civil rights that must be protected.”

Hawthorne has returned to work as a manager in an El Rio print shop, Follin said.

Times staff writer Constance Sommer contributed to this report.