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New charges filed in separate case against man accused of killing niece

State attorney’s office files 3 counts of lewd and lascivious molestation against Johnathan Quiles

Johnathan Quiles appears Wednesday in court. (Zoom)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New charges have been filed against Johnathan Quiles, who’s already charged in the rape and murder of his niece, Iyana Sawyer, who was pregnant.

Quiles, 37, is also charged with sexual battery on another girl, and the state attorney’s office filed three new counts of lewd and lascivious molestation in that case. Quiles pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday.

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The trial in that case is set for June.

Quiles’ trial in Sawyer’s murder is scheduled for December. It’s a death penalty case.

Sawyer, 16, was last seen leaving Jacksonville’s Terry Parker High School in December 2018. She was later reported missing, but her remains have not been found, despite an extensive search of a local landfill.

Quiles was indicted in July 2019 on murder charges in the death of Sawyer and her unborn child. He was also indicted on a sexual battery charge. According to the indictment, Quiles, who is believed to be the father of the child, shot Sawyer.


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