WEST JORDAN, Utah - After deliberating for several hours Wednesday and most of the day Thursday, the jury in the trial of John Carrell has reached a verdict and found the man guilty of multiple counts.
FOX 13 News' Kiersten Nuñez reports the jury has found Carrell guilty of 19 counts out of 33, see the tweet below for the list.
John Martin Carrell was accused of molesting two 5-year-old girls and was facing a total of 33 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 24.
Court documents indicate the alleged abuse occurred between Feb. 20 and April 22.
Bus surveillance video shows instances of touching from primarily two camera angles.
Tuesday, Carrell stood in front of the jury for more than five hours explaining the surveillance footage in his own words.
The defense attorney asked Carrell where his hands were and if he was touching the girl’s genital area.
“No I’m not touching her genital area,” Carrell adamantly replied to the court.
But in most of the video the bus seats or Carrell’s body blocked the camera’s view of his interaction with the girls, making it difficult to see where his hands were.
“No, I do not know exactly where it is, but I know exactly where it is not,” Carrell told the court referring to his hand.
The defense attorney asked, “where is that?”
“It’s not on her genitals, her buttocks, her breasts or any other sexual purpose,” Carrell added.
Prosecutors say the video surveillance shows otherwise.
The prosecution pointed out that Carrell spent significantly longer unbuckling one of the girls than the other children on the bus.
They also argue Carrell was observed bringing one of the girls to stand close to his body, often between his legs.
At the end of his testimony he was asked one final time if he touched any of the girls on his school bus inappropriately for sexual gratification.
“No. I did not, ever,” Carrell said holding back tears.
If convicted of any of the charges, Carrell will face 15 years to life in prison.
