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	Alleged Lies May Stall Sex Case By Tracy Kennedy Register Citizen May 20, 2006 http://www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid= 16667849&BRD=1652&PAG=461&dept_id=12530&rfi=6 LITCHFIELD - The case against an area religious leader accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl stalled Friday after a judge learned the child's mother was arrested recently for fabricating evidence. Hope Vaughn, of Torrington, was arrested in March and charged with two counts of tampering with physical evidence and two counts of issuing a false statement. She is accused of making false statements about the evidence collected against the defendant, according to court records. The Rev. James Willie Johnson, 50, a pastor for the Community Tabernacle Outreach Center on Hewlett Street in Waterbury, was arrested in January 2005 and charged with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor for allegedly having sexual contact with Vaughn's daughter in May 2004. He waited in the gallery of the Litchfield Superior Court Friday for his case to be called, but left before Judge John Pickard addressed the case. Johnson is accused of molesting the child in the living room of Vaughn's home after the mother asked him to pick up her daughter from preschool, according to court records. A physical examination revealed the child suffered from injuries consistent with sexual abuse, according to an arrest warrant prepared by Torrington Police. Johnson maintained since his arrest that he didn't molest the girl. Vaughn allegedly told police on Jan. 18 that she wasn't "completely honest" about the nightshirt she gave police in December. She initially said she found the nightshirt behind the washing machine, but then told police Johnson used the nightshirt after he was with her sometime between October and November. Police said she also lied about two cassette tapes that allegedly had a conversation between Vaughn and Johnson, according to the warrant. Vaughn is due in Bantam Superior Court on May 31. Johnson's case in Litchfield Superior Court was postponed until July 7. "Hopefully we will make some progress by July," Senior Assistant State's Attorney James Fletcher said. Tracy Kennedy can be reached by e-mail at courts@registercitizen.com.
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