A Gilroy day care operator stalked and sexually molested her foster child and engaged in Satanic rituals, according to allegations in documents reviewed by the Gilroy Dispatch.
Santa Clara County officials filed a July 31 criminal complaint that details the charges against Christina Jean Johnson, 60, who faces five 15 years-to-life sentences for oral copulation or sexual penetration of a child 10 years of age or younger.
Johnson was arrested Aug. 11 and booked in Shasta County before being transferred on Aug. 13 to Santa Clara County’s Elmwood Complex Women’s Facility in Milpitas. She has been held without bail and appeared at a South County court appearance this week, at which the case was continued until Sept. 29..
Court documents refer to the victim as “Jack Doe,” who told investigators Johnson punched his “weanie” and subjected him to digital penetration at least 20 times between Jan. 1, 2023 and Oct. 4, 2024.
Doe told police his foster mother was “evil” and forced him to watch “creepy, weird sex” on TikTok during the sexual abuse.
He also said his foster mother took him to a basement with candles, prayed to the devil and blew smoke on him—leading the 7-year-old to believe he was “possessed.”
After a court transferred custody of the child to his biological grandmother, who lives 300 miles away, Johnson rented a nearby apartment in a suburb of Redding, California to stalk him, prosecutors allege. While in Shasta County, Johnson left her Hastings Place day care business in the hands of unlicensed workers.
“There was concern for (two additional foster children) who were still currently in the care of Christina,” Gilroy police detective Vanessa Ruiz said. “It was later learned that once Christina lost custody of (Doe), she rented an apartment near (Doe’s) new residence in an attempt to be closer to him. Christina would spend part of her time in Redding and the rest in Gilroy, splitting both (foster children).
Police officials said Doe hid knives under his bed in fear of his foster mother after she broke a no-contact order and went as far as to enroll one of her foster children in his new school to pass along messages.
“The victim also disclosed that Johnson ‘hurt them too’, referring to (his foster siblings). He said she also yells and hits them ‘like she did to me’,” Ruiz wrote.
Despite the initial sexual abuse allegations and Johnson’s May 2024 arrest on stalking charges, police left the case on ice for several months before eventually following up on the Oct. 15, 2024 request for a forensic interview on Jan. 30.
State officials closed the day care facility on June 29, 2024, after discovering an open pool gate and inexperienced workers, including a minor, supervising children. It was more than a year after the first complaints came in about Johnson, and months after her stalking arrest.
The case caught the attention of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office after Doe revealed new and more detailed accusations.
Based on body-worn camera-recorded videos and interviews taken during his investigation, Gilroy police detective Michael Cupak detailed the trauma and behavioral changes in the child as a result of Johnson’s abuse.
“The incidents took place in her bed, and she was not wearing clothes, but he was wearing his pajamas,” Cupak said. “He said sometimes she’ll do it to [the foster siblings] too. He knew that happened because he peaked into her room and saw everything.”
Prosecutors warned against granting Johnson bail because he said she is a flight risk because of her potential life in prison sentence.
Enforcement lagged
The first complaint arrived at the Department of Social Services on April 28, 2023, more than two years ago. It alleged that Johnson made inappropriate comments to a child, and that a child was left unsupervised without an adult present. The licensing agency investigated but could not substantiate the complaint.
The following year, the home was subject of multiple complaints that included allegations of an unsafe environment and that the operator’s conduct posed a risk to children’s safety. No action was taken in response to the complaints.
However, during a routine annual inspection on May 10, 2024, the facility was cited for two technical violations: failing to document infant sleep check every 15 minutes and not completing mandated reporter training, which requires day care workers to report abuse to authorities.
In June 2024, a Notice of Closure for the Temporary Suspension Order was issued—five months after Johnson was jailed for two days on charges that she stalked the 7-year-old child and violated a no-contact order, then failed to inform regulatory officials of her arrest.
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