Austin mental health facility worker arrested, accused of sexual assault of patient

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man employed at a mental health facility in southeast Austin was arrested Aug. 21 and charged with the sexual assault of a patient, according to court documents.

Documents stated on Jan. 20, 48-year-old Jerry Wayne Johnson Jr., an employee at the Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care, sexually assaulted a woman who was also a patient at the facility by “causing her to participate in the act by exploiting her emotional dependency.”

KXAN reached out to Johnson’s attorney for a statement. This story will be updated if a statement is received.

The Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care is a mental health facility owned and operated by Integral Care.

Integral Care released the following statement regarding Johnson:

We have been made aware of the incident. The safety and well-being of our clients and staff is our top priority. As a Joint Commission accredited healthcare organization, we are accountable to the highest standards throughout our therapeutic system of care and undergo rigorous monitoring. We routinely evaluate procedures, training protocols, and other safety measures to maintain the highest standards.

Integral Care statement

According to court documents, the victim was previously sex trafficked and told investigators she feared punishment.

“[The victim] stated she knew that Johnson was powerful in his place as a staff member at the mental health facility, and that if he wanted something he was going to get it,” the documents said.

According to the records, the victim told investigators that once she was at the mental health facility, she had no intention of having sex with anyone. She continued by saying she had never met Johnson before, and if it were not for his position of power, she would not have wanted to have sex with him.

On April 15, a DNA search warrant was issued, and a sample of Johnson’s DNA was taken. The sample was then compared to DNA from the victim’s sexual assault exam.

Documents said Johnson could not be excluded as a possible contributor to the DNA profile.

As of Wednesday, Johnson remained booked in the Travis County jail on a $30,000 bond.