Iron Horse bike path attacker to be sentenced for random, sexually-driven attack

CENTERVILLE — A man randomly beat a 17-year-old girl along the bike trail in Centerville’s Iron Horse Park last fall in what police described as a sexually-driven attack, but defense attorneys argue the man is “very remorseful” ahead of his sentencing.

“He was hitting her on the head with a mallet,” a 911 caller said after that 17-year-old girl was able to escape from Johnny Hansen, but not before she was severely hurt.

>> Man accused of attacking teen with mallet on bike path in Centerville

Hansen, 34, later admitted in police interviews that he attacked the girl, who he didn’t know.

The crime led to a long list of charges, which he recently pleaded guilty to, including felonious assault with a sexual motivation specification and kidnapping.

Ahead of his sentencing this week, prosecutors have revealed more about the attack than ever before, according to public records obtained by News Center 7.

Prosecutors wrote the judge saying the 34-year-old revealed he attacked the teen because he “gets off on pain” and “wanted the victim to feel pain” then “back up to get a picture” of it, which he would use for sexual purposes, court records read.

Hansen is “nothing short of a monster” and “no one is safe from his actions” unless he gets the maximum sentence for the attack, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Hansen’s attorneys argue in their own sentencing memorandum that he is “very remorseful and “knows that he committed a terrible crime.”

Hansen’s attorney said the crimes came after a childhood with physically abusive relatives and adult years with a “mood disorder that becomes severe at times,” a sentencing memorandum read.

Prosecutors said the girl who was attacked was left covered in blood and in need of over 90 stitches. They also said the attack has left her with “psychological pain that she will live with for years to come.”

The reason the story was not even more tragic is only because of the “remarkable actions” of the neighbor who intervened and called 911, prosecutors added, a sentiment echoed by police shortly after the attack happened.

“It’s so unusual for something like this to happen in Centerville,” said Officer John Davis with Centerville police. “The neighborhood stepped up and helped,” Davis said.

Cox Media Group