OAKLAND — A mistrial was declared after a jury could not come to an unanimous decision as to whether a man accused of molesting his half-brother and stepsister, who would later become his stepchildren, should be found guilty.
The jury deadlocked 11-1 on Friday, the majority in favor of convicting Bostyon Johnson, but one juror maintaining he was not guilty. The jury deliberated for about a week and could not reach a unanimous decision.
Johnson, 36, is accused of years of child molestation and assault against “John Doe,” his half-brother, and stepsister, “Jane Doe 2.” The two became his stepchildren when he married their mother — the woman who had previously been his stepmother.
He is also accused of molesting their cousin “Jane Doe 1,” a minor at the time.
The allegations against Johnson began as early as 2002, although they did not surface till years later.
The defense maintained the allegations all stem from the children’s dislike for Johnson turning their lives upside-down when he married their mother. Or, in the case of the cousin, she was angry over a pair of sneakers, said defense attorney Kellie Blumin in her closing statements.
Johnson’s biological father and then-stepmother took him into their Oakland home around 2000, when he was 18 years old.
He formed a relationship with his stepmother, and eventually was kicked out by his father. After several years, when he was 22 and she was 35, they got married.
In August 2012, the ex-stepmother, still his wife, was hit and killed by a CHP motorcycle in Oakland. It was after her death that the allegations of sexual abuse surfaced.
The district attorney can decide to refile charges against Johnson.