JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — READ UPDATE HERE: Johnathan Quiles found guilty of raping, murdering his niece and her unborn child
Tuesday, jurors heard from the relative of a Jacksonville man accused of killing his pregnant niece who says she was sexually abused by him.
Johnathan Quiles faces first-degree murder and sexual battery charges for allegedly killing 16-year-old Iyana Sawyer because she was pregnant with his baby.
A family member, who is now 19 years old, told jurors in an emotional testimony Quiles sexually abused her for years when she was between 13 and 15-years-old.
She said she didn’t initially tell police about the abuse after Iyana Sawyer disappeared in 2018 because she was afraid.
She recounted four instances in which he had sexual intercourse with her and touched her inappropriately at his home, in his van and even at the beach.
She testified that Quiles sent her nude photos and sexual messages on Snapchat, preferring that app because messages automatically delete.
She said they once had sexual intercourse while his young daughter slept in the same bed and in a van he sold after Iyana sawyer went missing.
Quiles’s defense team said her story has changed several times over the years, depending on the day and who she’s talking to, but prosecutors said her inconsistencies were due to the trauma she endured.
PROSECUTION: “S.S., do you go about your life wanting to think about the defendant sexually abusing you?”
S.S.: “No.”
PROSECUTION: “Is it, in fact, something that you don’t even want to think about?”
S.S.: “Correct.”
PROSECUTION: “Do you want to forget about it?”
S.S.: “Yes.”
Another relative testified that although she was never sexually abused, he did make suggestive and sexually inappropriate comments to her over snapchat.
The prosecution showed threatening and sexual messages from Quiles to his teenage niece.
The lead detective in the case read exchanges from the accused killer in the months leading up to 16-year-old Iyana Sawyer’s disappearance.
The defendant told investigators she’d taken 38 pairs of Victoria’s Secret undergarments with her.
The detective testified he saw that detail as a red flag. He also testified that Quiles brother contacted police to report that his brother had confessed.
PROSECUTION: “Based upon those statements, did it change your investigation involving I.S. [Iyana Sawyer]?”
DETECTIVE ABBOTT: “Yes.”
PROSECUTION: “And how did it change?”
DETECTIVE ABBOTT: “It turned it to a missing persons case to a homicide case.”
The case is taking longer than the judge hoped. The case is now expected to stretch into next week.