A former California mayor is accused of sexual crimes against a minor.
Police arrested former Sebastopol Mayor Robert Jacob, a Democrat, Saturday on suspicion of five felony and one misdemeanor sexual assault crimes against a minor, according to police. The arrest came just one week after police received “information of possible sexual assaults” between December 2019 and March 2021.
“Upon further investigation, the suspect was identified as Robert Jacob,” Sebastopol police said in a statement.
The possible crimes include “making a child under 16 available to another person for lewd or lascivious act, committing such an act with a 14- or 15-year-old child, distributing harmful matter depicting a minor engaged in sexual conduct, arranging a meeting with a minor for the purpose of exposing genitals or rectal area, and participating in sexual penetration of a child under 16.”
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Jacob is currently being held at Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility while “the charges are connected to one victim,” and police are encouraging other potential victims to come forward.
“We’ll continue to see if we have more victims, and we would encourage anyone who may have information to please reach out to us,” Sebastopol Police Chief Kevin Kilgore said. “It’s important to note that these are all sexual assault crimes against a minor.”
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Jacobs served one term as mayor after running the most expensive campaign in city history in 2012. He was elected to the City Council, which eventually chose him as mayor, but he declined to seek reelection. His campaign was noteworthy due to his ties to the cannabis industry, where he was the founder of a medical marijuana dispensary.
After serving in public office, he became a consultant for cannabis startups while secretary of state records list him as president and secretary of a cannabis business called Responsible Patient Care Inc.
