Man guilty of sex assault on mentally challenged woman

Angela Soo

Monday, June 11, 2001 | 10:38 a.m.

If a man's innocence is in question, look to his actions for the truth, Deputy District Attorney Tammy Peterson told a jury last week. Actions will speak louder than words.

John Bowyer's actions led that jury to convict him Friday of sexually assaulting a mentally challenged 20-year-old woman, and later hiring a hit man to kill her. His sentencing is scheduled for July 23.

Bowyer picked up the woman, whom he knew, in December from her job at a supermarket. Instead of taking her home, he drove her to his residence, where he sexually assaulted her, prosecutors alleged.

Deputy District Attorney Clark Peterson, who is not related to his fellow prosecutor, said that Bowyer knew she had the mental capacity of a 12-year-old.

"Not only did he know that, he counted on that," Peterson told the jury. "She was incapable of giving consent or understanding the nature of the actions."

Before the assault occurred, Bowyer played a pornographic film for the woman. The victim didn't immediately tell anyone what happened, but told her mother that she had seen "sex movies" with the man.

Two days later, the victim was examined for nine hours at Universal Medical Center, but any evidence of sexual assault had already been washed off, according to testimony.

Bowyer fled to the Del Mar Adult Motel and checked in under a different name after he received an accusing phone call from the victim's mother.

Police obtained a search warrant for his motel room and found 18 pornographic films, his bed sheets from his house and a sex instrument that was later submitted as evidence.

"Are these the actions of an innocent man?" Tammy Peterson asked the jury. "He left his house and gathered up all the evidence ... An innocent man would stay and wait."

His safety was at issue, defense attorney Robert Draskovich argued. Bowyer fled because he was afraid the family would physically harm him for something he didn't do.

After his arrest, Bowyer offered the family $30,000 to drop the case. The family refused, which led Bowyer to take a desperate measure -- terminating the primary witness, prosecutors said.

"If we made it a hit and run, with my luck she'd live," Bowyer told another inmate in an audio recording that was played for the jury. "Just shoot her head. That'll make it a more gang-related thing ... Pow. Drive off. Be done with it."

Bowyer arranged to pay the inmate, who never intended to kill the witness, at least $10,000 for his services, prosecutors said.

It was understandable why Bowyer considered this option, given the stress he was put under from a "conveyor belt of justice," Draskovich said. He felt pressure from the victim's family, the legal system and the potential dangers found in jails.

"In my world, if you're innocent, you don't have to kill your witnesses," Clark Peterson said.

Bowyer's three actions -- leaving home with the evidence, offering $30,000 to drop the case, and hiring a hit man -- were the strongest indicators that led to his guilt, the jury foreman said.

The jury, however, did not find Bowyer guilty of two other sexual assault charges and one kidnapping count in connection with the incident.

"There was no DNA or sperm found, and there was doubt about the victim's credibility as a witness because she's mentally challenged," the jury foreman said. The jury deliberated for five hours.

Bowyer will appeal, hoping that the jury's split decision will help him overturn the verdict, Draskovich said. His sentence could fall between 10 years to life in prison.