LITTLETON, Colo. — A repeat sex offender who's already serving 25 years in prison for two sexual assaults in Denver was sentenced to another 90 years to life Friday in connection with the sexual assault of a woman on the South Platte River Trail last year.
Vanessa Ursini was walking her dog on July 25, 2018, when she was dragged off the South Platte River Trail at Reynolds Landing north of Breckenridge Brewery around 7:20 a.m. and attacked by Harris.
Ursini spoke at his sentencing hearing Friday afternoon.
"Every day when I wake up it feels like I'm climbing Mount Everest just to make it through the day," Ursini said during the sentencing. "How many times will I obsessively glance over my shoulder? How many sounds will startle me as I walk down the street? How many men will pass me, while I'm walking my dog that I will immediately assume will hurt me?"
According to an arrest affidavit, Harris told police that he attacked Ursini by placing a rope around her throat and dragging her into the bushes. Harris admitted to sexually assaulting her and said that as she fought him off, she knocked off his glasses and he couldn't see, according to the affidavit.
To prevent her escape while he searched for his glasses, he used the rope around her neck to also tie her by the ankles and wrists behind her back.
Ursini who spoke with 9NEWS after the assault said she was able to reach the knot around her ankles and free herself, though she had to leave her dog behind.
Several cyclists stopped to help Ursini once she ran onto the trail. Littleton Police apprehended Harris 15 to 20 minutes after the assault, as some of the cyclists either took care of Ursini or followed Harris until his arrest.
Several of Ursini's family members and friends also testified Friday, sharing how difficult the recovery and healing process has been for all of them.
"I've had friends and family tell me I'm lucky– lucky I got away, Lucky he didn’t kill me," Ursini said. "Lucky would have been this not ever happening to me. I am not lucky. I am a smart, strong, warrior woman who had the strength and courage to never give up and escape this horrific assault."
A jury found Johnny Dewayne Harris, Jr., guilty in September on the following charges related to the July 2018 assault.
- One count of first-degree kidnapping
- One count of attempted sexual assault – deadly weapon
- One count of attempted sexual assault – serious bodily injury
- One count of attempted sexual assault – use of force/violence
- One count of first-degree assault – strangulation
- One count of unlawful sexual contact
- Two sentence enhancements for violent crime
Ursini said her story won't end with the sentencing, but it's a chapter she can close. When asked if the sentencing offered justice, she responded:
"Oh yeah, I think so. I'm happy with everything that happened today. It was nerve-wracking, and like I said, I’m always trying to prepare for the worst of the worst, but I think the best of the best came out of today."
At the time of the attack, Harris was wanted by the City and County of Denver for sexual assault and failure to register as a sex offender. The defendant said he was in the Littleton area because he knew he was wanted in Denver.
In May of this year, Harris pleaded guilty to the following charges related to two separate incidents in Denver that occurred in March 2018:
- 1 count assault with a deadly weapon, with serious bodily injury
- 2 counts attempted sexual assault
One of the victims from Denver is Dianne Hammer, who said she was assaulted by Harris at a bookstore. She reached out to Ursini after the trial for her case ended.
The two said they have become close, bonded through a shared, though horrific, experience.
"She and I have this experience in common together that nobody else can quite understand," Hammer said. "Even though we have both been very supported by our family and friends, it's an extremely lonely experience. I was craving for the connection with her, craving for the understanding."
Hammer also spoke at the sentencing Friday.
"He's serving prison right now on my case, and that feels incredibly important to me," she said. "And I wanted her so badly to have that as well -- An individual piece of time he's sitting in a jail cell because of what he did to her."
Both women credited their family and support system for helping them work through recovery.
Harris was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the Denver incidents. The 90 years to life sentence he received Friday will run consecutively, meaning, it won't begin until the 25-year sentence ends.
Harris was previously sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1999 for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Texas and was arrested in Denver in 2016 for exposing himself to a minor and adults.
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