Convicted South Bay Child Molester Captured Abroad Gets Life: DA

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — An inquisitive woman in the Caribbean got the wheels of justice rolling, and a Santa Clara County judge closed the deal.

The woman’s tip led the capture of a South Bay child molester who fled who fled the country during his trial, and 57-year-old Apollo Johnsen was sentenced to life in prison Monday, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Johnsen was arrested in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic and brought back by U.S. Marshals earlier this year, prosecutors said.

Johnsen fled the country after his last court appearance in June 2019, but his trial continued and he was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young girl, prosecutors said.

A woman in the Dominican Republic who Googled Johnsen and discovered his crimes turned Johnsen into authorities.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Linda Clark sentenced Johnsen to the maximum of 240 years-to-life plus 44 years and eight months.

“There is no safe haven for people who harm children in our community,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement.

“From a suspicious mother in the Caribbean to law enforcement to our prosecutor, we worked together to bring this fugitive to justice.”

Johnsen began sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl in 2005 and he raped her when she was 16 in her East Bay home, prosecutors said.

The victim did not tell anyone about the abuse until May 2016 when she was hospitalized for a panic attack, prosecutors said.

Johnsen was arrested on June 29, 2016, at his home in Santa Clara. He was released on $1 million bail on Nov. 2, 2016, prosecutors said.

He last appeared in court in June 2019 when the court granted Johnsen a 3-month mid-trial continuance for a medical procedure – time that he used to plan his escape according to prosecutors. Johnsen never returned for the remainder of his trial.

Johnsen’s trial continued without him and he was convicted of 16 counts of child molestation Sept. 26, 2019.

The DA’s Office put out the news that Johnsen was wanted shortly after his conviction, which led to the woman contacting authorities.

The woman, who does not want to be identified or interviewed by the media, wrote the prosecutor: “You don't have to say thank you. I AM A MOTHER. We are not all pure and have mistakes, but you can't close your eyes to that.”