The jury trial for Opollo Johnson, the former youth advocate accused of raping a teenage girl, is now scheduled to begin Sept. 5.
Johnson's trial was to start Monday, July 24, but prior to that appearance before Superior Court Judge Penny Haas Freesemann, Johnson's defense attorney withdrew a motion for a speedy trial and filed for a continuance. Freesemann ruled on those motions on Wednesday, July 26.
Attorney Michael Schwartz asked for the postponement citing “late disclosure” of records by the Savannah Police Department.
Johnson stands accused of raping a girl he met through his mentoring duties. Johnson worked with both the Deep Center, a nonprofit which lists its mission as "to empower Savannah’s young people to thrive as learners, community leaders, and agents of change," and with the Chatham County Work Readiness Enrichment Program (WREP) program.
Johnson has been in the Chatham County Jail since July 27, 2022.
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Schwartz justified his request for this week's continuance based on delayed delivery of subpoenaed records he requested documents seven weeks before the July 24 trial date but claims he only recently received the files. Savannah Police records indicate the subpoenaed documents were produced on July 10 and 13. The files included 327 surveillance videos, according to court records. On July 14, the state produced GBI lab reports it intends to introduce at trial.
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