Just after Indiana Republican county commissioner John Jessup won the election, he pleaded guilty in a Nevada sexual assault case. And now, he will be forced to resign without serving in his elected role. He should have run for President so that he would have immunity just like that other criminal who shall not be named. (There is an update below, and it’s an appalling plot twist).
The Guardian reports:
John Jessup, commissioner of Hancock, Indiana, is at the center of one of the more bizarre tales to emerge from the down-ballot 5 November elections across the US.
As noted by the local Greenfield Daily Reporter newspaper and KLAS, authorities in Nevada charged Jessup, 49, in June in connection with a sexual assault that occurred in January. But he remained in office as a county commissioner; ran for a seat on the Hancock council, which is a distinct elected body; and emerged as one of three victors after collecting about 15,000 votes.
Jessup’s satisfaction with his victory – secured while he was under house arrest in Nevada – may have been fleeting, however. Records show he pleaded guilty in Nevada court on 13 November to attempted sexual assault, which is a kind of felony that can carry multiple years in prison, according to state law.
Indiana prohibits convicted felons from serving in state or local elected offices, though a decisive majority of its voters on 5 November helped vault Donald Trump to a second US presidency just months after a New York City jury convicted him on felony charges of criminally falsifying business records.
Therefore, Jessup must resign – unlike Trump, who has also faced multimillion-dollar civil penalties for a rape allegation that a judge determined to be substantially true.
I wasn’t going to use the felon’s name, but The Guardian did it for me. Foiled again:(
Jessup reportedly said, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” He proceeded to feed his victim an excessive number of Long Island iced teas in January. Then he sexually assaulted the woman. Jessup admitted to police that he had touched the woman inappropriately against her knowledge or will.
UPDATE:
The victim has identified herself as Rachel, John Jessup’s daughter.
Rachel was sexually assaulted by her father on the night of Jan. 25 in Las Vegas, she said, during what was supposed to be a celebration trip for her 21st birthday. The night, instead, turned into the worst of her life.
“He had taken all of my siblings to Las Vegas when they turned 21, and it was finally my turn to go,” Rachel said. “I never dreamed it would have ended up the way it did.”
