Jury Finds Officer Not Guilty for Failure to Report Child Abuse

An El Dorado County jury deliberated for just three hours before it found Placerville Police Officer John Jacobs, age 48, not guilty of violating a mandatory requirement to report child abuse. Jacobs, a 17—year veteran of Placerville PD, was represented by LDF panel attorney Paul Q. Goyette of Goyette & Adams.

The State Attorney General’s Office filed a criminal complaint against Jacobs alleging he violated Penal Code §11172(e). Penal Code §11172(e) states that a person can be held criminally liable for his or her failure to report known child abuse or child abuse he or she reasonably believes to have occurred.

“Jacobs did everything humanly possible to determine what, if anything, occurred in this case,” Goyette said, calling the prosecution’s case a “serious attack on a 25-year veteran of law enforcement.”

On November 28, 1997, Jacobs was dispatched to a call where the suspect stated that “he wanted to turn himself in for child molest”. When Jacobs arrived at the call, the suspect advised him that he had accidentally brushed his arm against the breasts of his 15-year old niece. The suspect maintained that the touching was purely accidental and was not sexual in any way.

Jacobs asked to speak to the victim and was advised she was out of town. Jacobs was able to speak to the victim’s father by telephone. The victim’s father told Jacobs that he was not sure if anything had occurred, but that he would investigate the matter thoroughly. Jacobs arranged a meeting with the victim and her father for the next day.

After clearing the call, Jacobs met with his supervisor and advised him of the status of the case. In addition, Jacobs met with another sergeant of the department who had extensive experience in a sexual assault investigation. Both sergeants advised Jacobs that he needed to obtain more information to determine whether a crime had occurred.

The next day, Jacobs arrived at the suspect’s residence to meet with the victim and her father. The suspect immediately advised Jacobs that the victim and her father would not be coming and did not wish to meet with Jacobs. Jacobs was able to reach the victim’s father by telephone to inquire why they were not attending the meeting.

The victim’s father advised Jacobs that he still did not know if anything occurred with his daughter, and under no circumstances would they meet with him. Further, the victim’s father refused to allow Jacobs to speak to the victim. Jacobs persisted with both the suspect and the victim’s father but was unable to obtain any information as to whether anything occurred, other than an accidental touching.

Later in the shift, Jacobs again updated his supervisor as to the status of the investigation. Jacobs concluded that he did not have sufficient information to determine if a sexual assault had occurred and that he would need to obtain more information regarding the call. Jacobs then began attending to other calls that were waiting for him.

A few weeks later, the victim’s mother contacted the Placerville Police Department and inquired as to the status of the investigation. The department then began its own criminal and internal affairs investigations. The case was prosecuted by the State Attorney General’s office.

The Attorney General’s office alleged that Jacobs failed to file a report in a clear case of child abuse. However, the jury did not agree. Two members of the jury said they felt the evidence showed the suspect and the victim’s father may have conspired to deprive Jacobs of key information. The jurors noted that it was important that Jacobs, within one hour of answering the call, sought out his supervisor and another highly knowledgeable sergeant to determine how to proceed.

An emotional Jacobs was relieved with the jury’s verdict. “Not in my wildest dreams did I think there was a problem in the way I handled this call. Before I know it, I have a criminal case filed against me and I am fighting for my career.” Jacobs credited the work of Goyette during the trial. “I cannot say enough about the way he represented me in this case. Goyette hammered them at every opportunity. He did a great job of letting the truth come out.”

Goyette noted this was the kind of case that could affect any officer. “The scary part about this case is that this is the type of case that could affect anybody. Jacobs was just doing his job and doing it well. Then he finds himself battling a lengthy and difficult criminal case. Fortunately, with the assistance of the Legal Defense Fund, the case turned out well.”