A South Whidbey man who was found guilty of raping two boys following a dramatic trial in 2016 will be returning to Whidbey Island soon.

The state Court of Appeals entered an order to transport 39-year-old Jonathan S. Sage to Island County Superior Court for a hearing and determination on the merits of his personal restrain petition.

In the petition, which Sage wrote himself, he claims that his defense attorney at trial, Cassandra Lopez de Arriaga-Shaw, refused to let him testify in his own defense, as his right, and even failed to inform him that he could make the decision.

The county prosecutor’s office submitted a declaration from Lopez de Arriaga-Shaw, who is now a superior court judge in Snohomish County, stating that she advised Sage of his right to testify but recommended against it; she said Sage chose not to testify. A private investigator who worked for the defense corroborated Lopez de Arriaga-Shaw’s version of events.

Sage, however, submitted a letter from a New Jersey attorney. The attorney states that he spoke during the trial to Sage and that Sage told him that Lopez de Arriaga-Shaw refused to allow him to testify on his own behalf.

The Appeals Court determined that the superior court is the proper venue for a determination of credibility.

Sage will be transported from the Coyote Ridge Correction Center to the Island County Jail to appear at a pre-hearing conference on Oct. 20.

Sage had previously appealed his conviction but was unsuccessful. His request for a reconsideration was also rejected by the state Supreme Court.

In 2016, a jury found Sage guilty of four counts of rape of a child in the second degree with aggravating factors. He was given an indeterminate sentence 35 years to life in prison.

The two teenage boys took the stand during the trial and described how Sage — their mother’s employer — befriended them , took them into his home and then began sexually assaulting them for years, beginning when they were just 12 or 13 years old.

The abuse occurred in 2010 to 2013.

Testimony during the trial painted a bleak picture of the boys’ life on South Whidbey. They spoke about their mother’s drug addiction, as well as abandonment and stark poverty. Both boys described how students at South Whidbey schools bullied them and treated them poorly because they were perceived as being homosexual.

During the trial, Lopez de Arriaga argued that the sexual abuse allegations simply were not true. She described how the boys’ parents failed them for so long and how Sage took over the responsibilities of raising them when they were homeless.