Ex-Utah doctor convicted of murder now faces new charge of child sex abuse
Published at | Updated at
Pat Reavy, KSL
MURRAY, Utah (KSL) — A former Utah pediatrician convicted of killing his wife in 2015 has now been charged with sexually abusing a young patient 15 years ago.
Johnny Brickman Wall, 62, was charged Friday in Utah’s 3rd District Court with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.
Wall is currently serving a sentence of 15-years to life at the Utah State Prison for his conviction of murder, a first-degree felony.
RELATED | Utah doctor sentenced to 15 years to life in ex-wife’s death
On Sept. 27, 2011, Wall’s ex-wife, Uta von Schwedler, 49, a University of Utah researcher, was found dead in her Salt Lake City home, 1433 E. Harrison Ave. It appeared as though she drowned in her bathtub after taking a toxic level of Xanax. A medical examiner could not determine whether her death was murder or suicide.
Prosecutors successfully convinced a jury in 2015 that Wall and von Schwedler’s tumultuous relationship reached a boiling point and that Wall killed his ex-wife, whom he despised. An appeals court upheld the conviction in 2019. His first parole hearing isn’t expected to happen until sometime in the year 2043.
RELATED | Appeals court upholds Utah doctor’s conviction of murdering wife
According to his new charges, Wall, who worked at Wasatch Pediatrics, sexually abused one of his patients starting in 2011 when the girl was 7 years old. During two visits in 2011 and 2012, Wall “used his position of trust as a family pediatrician to prey upon the victim” and inappropriately touched her, the charges state.
The girl recently went to Murray police to report the incidents.
“We hope that these charges help the victim-survivor understand that her community is here to support her, and as an office, we are committed to fighting for the justice she deserves,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We thank the Murray Police Department for their thorough investigation that helped lead to the filing of these charges.”