Carbondale resident found guilty on 6 counts of child sex assault
Glenwood Springs Post Independent
A Garfield County jury, after two solid days of deliberation, on Wednesday found 45-year-old John Wayne Diamond guilty on six of seven counts of sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust over a period of four years.
The Carbondale resident and former owner of a roofing company in Basalt was turned over to the custody of the Garfield County Sheriff after the jury presented its verdict to 9th District Judge Denise Lynch just before 7 p.m. Wednesday. Diamond had been free on $503,000 bond up until his trial
“I would like to thank the jury for putting in such hard work, and the judge” 9th District Attorney Jeff Cheney said after the verdict.
“This is justice for a child victim of sexual assault, and we are going to keep fighting for victims of sexual assault in this district,” Cheney said.
Diamond’s defense team declined to comment on the verdict following the week-long trial at the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs.
Following closing arguments by the prosecution and defense Monday evening, the jury deliberated all day Tuesday, went home and returned for another full day of deliberation Wednesday before reaching its verdict.
The jury in the child sex assault trial of John Wayne Diamond went home Tuesday night after a day of deliberation at the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs without reaching a verdict.
Diamond went to trial on three counts of sexual assault on a child less than 15 years of age by a person in a position of trust, and four counts of sexual assault on a child less than 15 years of age as a pattern of abuse, all class 3 felonies.
The jury acquitted Diamond on one count involving one of the alleged incidents.
The female victim in the case, who’s now 16 and was the defendant’s stepdaughter at the time of alleged offenses between 2011 and 2015, testified in the trial last Thursday and Friday.
During her testimony, she said that her former stepfather had sexually abused her on multiple occasions beginning when she was nine until she was 13, at multiple locations including a Missouri Heights home, Diamond’s roofing company office in Willits Town Center, a house near Carbondale and a residence in Basalt.
Diamond would entice the victim with money, flowers, food, jewelry, Ebay items, games and other items, according to testimony in the case. He also threatened to kill the girl, her family, police and himself if she told anyone about the abuse, according to court documents and testimony at the trial.
Defense attorneys in the case had keyed on an initial denial of abuse by the victim when first questioned in a 2011 forensic interview.
In court last Friday, though, the victim told Cheney during direct questioning that she denied the alleged abuse because she wanted to protect Diamond from trouble, and told authorities at the time that he only touched her on the leg.
Sentencing in the case was set for Aug. 16, pending a court evaluation. Diamond faces between four and 12 years in prison for each count he was convicted on.
Threatening social media post made to Aspen School District poses no threat to community, superintendent says
Aspen School District Superintendent Dave Baugh said a threat posted on social media on Sunday targeting Aspen schools did not pose a threat to the community.