header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
May 7
1861 - Andres Pico and partners granted state franchise to build toll road and cut 50-foot-deep cleft through (Newhall) Pass; they failed; Beale later succeeded [story]
Andres Pico


johnwhitsell[District Attorney] A 72-year-old convicted rapist was sentenced Wednesday to 520 years to life in state prison for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl under his care in Canyon Country.

Deputy District Attorney Ani Bailey said John Adam Whitsell was found guilty on Oct. 12 of four counts each of lewd act upon a child and oral copulation or sexual penetration with child 10 years old or younger and one count of forcible oral copulation, victim under 14 years old.

In 1971, Whitsell was convicted in Louisiana of two counts of aggravated rape in two separate cases and served seven years in prison for those convictions.

The defendant was babysitting the young family member when he abused her at her Canyon Country home between Jan. 1, 2015 and June 30, 2015, according to evidence presented at the six-day-long trial.

Case PA084603 was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Clarita Station.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

53 Comments

  1. 520 years to life? That just sounds stupid. Hang his ass and be done with him.

  2. Randy Rodi says:

    I think if you go over 200 years you should just get the death penalty

  3. Charles Kase says:

    So sorry for the girl. Hope this guy rots in jail

  4. Gee Miguel says:

    Jail justice will be served.

  5. Why in that hell would you leave your kid with him,knowing his past..SMFH

  6. Isabel Y Saul Garcia maldito mejor. Lo uvieran matado

  7. I posted this a while ago! I rather see my tax dollars go towards the build, rope and hangmen !

  8. Bob Dixon says:

    Just give me a hammer ! And he will be fine for life in jail !!

  9. Hope he gets hit soon

  10. Vicky says:

    Who needs him to rot in jail he needs to be handled by a firing squad!!

  11. Why does the system wait till the second time to give these people life? Smh

    • Laura Hughes says:

      The crappy part is this guy was already given a life sentence for hard labor in 1972 in Louisiana for child rape and he got out on parole. Shouldn’t a life sentence be just that? Your in until you die and they take you out in a box.

  12. Mike Duryea says:

    Thanks to the idiots who voted for Prop 57, this is considered a “non-violent offense”, you can expect this a-hole to get released soon.

  13. Angie Riley says:

    I hope he hang him self sometime soon!!!

  14. Dan Aird says:

    Do the respectable thing Dick???⚰️

  15. Alex Flores says:

    Shirley Espinoza check this out

  16. I wish they gave every rapist that sentence(+)

  17. Say goodnight Mr. sicko!!! Enjoy getting what you deserve!!!

  18. he should be used as an example and than followed thru

  19. Aimey Beer says:

    He got this sentence because he wasn’t a strapping young college swimmer with his whole life ahead of him…

  20. This is just unacceptable but I’m glad he got that sentence. All child abusers should get the same number of years.

  21. Tess Knoles says:

    No.one googled his ass before they left there CHILD with some.old guy. Fuhhh

  22. Rocio Garcia says:

    Viejos desgrasiados cochinos esos se meresen la silla de muerte ..

  23. 520 years isn’t long enough. Sick CREEP

  24. Debra says:

    Taxpayers Wasted Money!!! Then They Get Special Housing And Treatment!!!Wrong Put Them In Solitary Confinement Where’s Lorena Bobbitt When You Need Her!!!

  25. My guess is if he ends up being a model inmate they will let him out early because of prop 57.. since that is now considered a non violent crime

  26. Fred Salinas says:

    Stop wasting taxpayer money, throw him in the volcano!

  27. Linda Harbeson says:

    Waste of taxpayers money to house him. Death penalty now. Prayers for the little girl and her family. They have to deal with this horrible memory the rest of their lives.

  28. No mercy!!! Ever!!!!!! Someone will shank him in prison hopefully! Disgusting pervert!

  29. Donna Boyer says:

    People like this disgust me!

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
June 8: Bark in the Park at Castaic Lake
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Friends of Castaic Lake will host Bark in the Park on Saturday, June 8 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Schiavo Announces Key Progress on Legislation Package
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, announced that 18 of her bills have successfully passed out of their respective Assembly policy committees, with most now moving to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Hart High School District Graduation Schedule
Graduation season is around the corner for the graduating seniors of the William S. Hart Union High School District.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Friends of Castaic Lake will host Bark in the Park on Saturday, June 8 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
June 8: Bark in the Park at Castaic Lake
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, announced that 18 of her bills have successfully passed out of their respective Assembly policy committees, with most now moving to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Schiavo Announces Key Progress on Legislation Package
A 10-week Life Skills course underwritten by the Old West Masonic Lodge No. 813 in Newhall will be offered free to Santa Clarita Valley youth.
Free Life Skills Classes for SCV Youth
The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency will hold a special board meeting on Monday, May 13 at 6 p.m. Board meetings have been temporarily relocated to the SCV Water Agency Training Room location at 23780 Pine St., Newhall, CA 91321.
May 13: SCV Water Holds Special Board Meeting
The 2024 California Institute of the Arts graduation ceremony will be held Friday, May 10 on the Valencia campus of CalArts. Honorary Degree recipients will include actor Keanu Reeves and director/writer/producer Gina Prince Bythewood.
May 10: Keanu Reeves, Gina Prince Bythewood CalArts Graduation Honorees
Graduation season is around the corner for the graduating seniors of the William S. Hart Union High School District.
Hart High School District Graduation Schedule
Members of the California Institute of the Arts community, industry representatives and friends and family journeyed to Los Angeles's Miracle Mile neighborhood to celebrate Character Animation students’ films at the 2024 Character Animation Producers’ Show.
CalArts 2024 Character Animation Producers’ Show
Princess Cruises, headquartered in Valencia, has announced it will return to San Juan, Puerto Rico after more than a decade, for a season of Southern Caribbean cruises onboard Grand Princess, from October 2025 through March 2026.
Princess Cruises Announces Return to San Juan, Puerto Rico
Join the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, May 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., for the monthly After Hours Mixer, an evening of networking and fun at Chronic Tacos.
May 15: SCV Chamber After Hours Mixer at Chronic Tacos
Get ready to level up your small business game. The next Los Angeles Region Small Business Summit will be held Thursday, May 9 and features Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Los Angeles County Team Department of Economic Opportuntiy, city of Los Angeles and partners at Mission College in Sylmar.
May 9: Free Small Business Summit at Mission College
College of the Canyons has captured the 3C2A Southern California Regional Championship, the ninth in program history, after turning its opening round lead into a four-stroke advantage over runner-up Cypress College on Monday, May 6 at Rio Bravo Country Club.
COC Men’s Golf Wins SoCal Title, Advances to State Championship
When every second counts, blood products can provide lifesaving care. The American Red Cross asks the public to give blood or platelets during Trauma Awareness Month in May to keep hospitals prepared for all transfusion needs, including emergencies.
May is Trauma Awareness Month, Blood, Platelet Donors Needed
The city of Santa Clarita has announced the pickleball courts at Bouquet Canyon Park will be closed on Wednesday, May 8, for necessary maintenance on the windscreens.
May 8: Bouquet Canyon Park Pickleball Courts Closed for Maintenance
The California Animal Welfare Association, the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have announced the inaugural California Adopt-a-Pet Day will take place on Saturday, June 1.
June 1: Inaugural California Adopt-a-Pet Day
1861 - Andres Pico and partners granted state franchise to build toll road and cut 50-foot-deep cleft through (Newhall) Pass; they failed; Beale later succeeded [story]
Andres Pico
Gilbert, Arizona's Leah Burke has signed her National Letter of Intent to play soccer at The Master's University.
Lady Mustangs Add Leah Burke to Soccer Roster
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa  - The Master's University struggled against a high-energy Georgetown (KY) Tigers squad, losing in straight sets 23-25, 18-25, 20-25 in the championship match of the 2024 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Volleyball Championships.
Mustangs Drop NAIA Championship Game
College of the Canyons student-athletes Nichole Muro (softball) and Owen Crockett (men's golf) have been named the COC Athletic Department's Women's and Men's Student-Athletes of the Week for the period running April 29 to May 4.
COC Names Nichole Muro, Owen Crockett Athletes of the Week
Step into the Heart of 1970s Texas at The MAIN as Front Row Center presents, "Lone Star, Laundry, and Bourbon."
‘Lone Star, Laundry, and Bourbon’ Coming to The MAIN
Warmer weather, longer days and the sound of baseball is officially back!
Ken Striplin | Santa Clarita Dodger Day Celebrates 45 Years
Mental Health Hookup, in partnership with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, will conduct the third annual Stop the Stigma community event on May 18, from 10 a.m. to  2 p.m., on the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital campus, located at 23803 McBean Parkway in Valencia.
May 18: Stop the Stigma Community Event
California State University, Northridge is set to open a first of its kind resource center in the CSU system to provide basic needs services such as food, clothing and wellness in a centralized location on campus.
CSUN Set to Open First of Its Kind Student Resource Center
The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office released the list of three productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, May 6 - Sunday, May 12.
Three Productions Filming in Santa Clarita
In an effort to bolster local businesses, Los Angeles County just launched the Entertainment Business Interruption Fund, a $4.1 million grant program aimed to serve businesses that were impacted by the Hollywood strikes and the pandemic.
Kathryn Barger | Bolstering Entertainment Businesses
SCVNews.com