Contracted worker at Fresno's Edison High arrested for sexual assault

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- An arrest on the campus of Edison High for sexual assault has sent shock waves through the community on Thursday.

According to Fresno police, the arrest happened around 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Fresno Unified School District released a statement to Action News saying, in part, "The suspect -- 24-year-old Juanya Ameer Johnson -- was not employed by the district and was instead contracted through an organization that provided services to one of its schools."

Johnson faces several charges, which include oral copulation, penetration with a foreign object and false imprisonment with violence.

On Thursday afternoon, Edison High Principal Joey Munoz released a safety alert notifying parents of the arrest involving a non-district employee.

Principal Munoz sympathized with students' families with these words: "We know this news is upsetting."

Some of the parents Action News spoke with were unaware of the incident.

"My concern is being notified as soon as they know," said one concerned parent who did not want to share her name.

"I just think we should have been notified immediately, so as parents we can make the judgment call on what we need to do."

Fresno Unified confirmed to Action News that the suspect will "not be allowed back on district property."

"They have things in place to catch that kind of thing, but -- of course, they go under the radar, and so I'm just happy that they were caught," said the concerned parent.

Fresno Unified said in its statement that it takes "student safety extremely seriously. All employees and contracted personnel undergo background checks before working on any of our campuses."

Fresno police say they never take these types of cases lightly.

"I can tell you as a former sexual assault investigator, these are investigated as seriously as a homicide investigation," said Fresno Police Sgt. Diana Trueba Vega.

Fresno police confirmed there is only one victim in this case at this time, but believes there could possibly be others.

"We understand the complexities and the emotional side that the victims go through even after their physical injuries have been healed, and we're here for them," said Sgt. Vega.

Once the investigation is finalized, Fresno Police will turn the case over to the District Attorney's Office, which will review and file charges against Juanya Johnson.

His bail is currently set at $75,000.

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