A Nevada man who attacked a therapist while he was a teenager at a Las Vegas-area youth facility has been sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison after violating the probation he received in the case.
Tavari Pearson, now 19, was 15 when he attacked the therapist during an outdoor counseling session at Spring Mountain Youth Camp in May 2022. According to police and court records, the therapist had been speaking with Pearson after he was upset about being removed from his high school track team.
During the walk, Pearson attacked the woman, striking her with a rock and sexually assaulting her before pushing her into a ravine. She was later found and survived the attack.
Pearson was initially charged with sexual assault and attempted murder. In 2024, he entered an Alford plea to attempted sexual assault and attempted battery with intent to commit sexual assault. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to obtain a conviction.
He was sentenced to six months in jail followed by probation. Prosecutors had originally sought an eight-to-20-year prison sentence, but that sentence was suspended while Pearson was given an opportunity to remain on probation.
That opportunity ended after Pearson became involved in another criminal case.
Earlier in September 2026, Pearson pleaded guilty to two counts of car theft and to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced separately on those charges on Nov. 4. Following that plea, his probation from the therapist attack case was revoked.
On Sept. 23, District Judge Colleen Brown sentenced Pearson to eight to 20 years in prison. He received credit for roughly three and a half years he had already spent in custody. The sentence was the prison term that had previously been suspended when he was placed on probation.
The case has also resulted in a major civil judgment for the therapist.
In February 2026, a court entered a $20.5 million default judgment against Pearson in a civil case brought by the therapist. Court records cited in the reporting say the judgment included damages connected to the intentional and violent nature of the attack. The therapist has continued to experience physical and psychological effects from the assault, including headaches, dizziness, balance problems, scarring, nightmares and panic attacks.
Clark County also settled its portion of a lawsuit brought by the therapist for $300,000. The lawsuit alleged that the county had failed to adequately inform her about serious behavioral concerns in Pearson’s history, including an earlier alleged sexual assault.
Spring Mountain Youth Camp is a Clark County juvenile facility for boys ages 12 to 18 who have been adjudicated for delinquent acts. The facility provides therapeutic, educational, medical, social and recreational services to youth in its care.
The latest prison sentence brings a new phase to a case that began with the 2022 attack. Pearson remains subject to the separate sentencing scheduled for November following his recent guilty pleas to the additional offenses.
