San Francisco Commissioner Jon Jacobo resigns after rape accusation
Note: This story contains allegations of sexual assault that may concern readers and survivors of sexual violence.
Tenant rights activist and Stanford alumna Sasha Perigo accused San Francisco prominent politician Jon Jacobo of rape in a social media post on August 6. Jacobo, who has denied the allegations, resigned “with immediate effect” from the city’s building inspection committee, he said later in the day.
In a seven-page document of text messages, police documents, and medical summaries posted on Twitter on Friday, Perigo claimed she was publicly raped by Jacobo on April 4.)
“When I got home, I crawled under my covers and lay there for hours before I finally got the courage to tell loved ones what happened to me,” she wrote in the document.
“If you don’t know Jon, you’re in luck,” she wrote earlier. “He’s a prominent figure in the San Francisco political scene and, like many rapists, is known for being a really nice guy.”
In a statement shared on Twitter the same day, Jacobo said, “I believe that every woman needs to be heard. I believe that every victim of trauma needs to be heard and the process of speaking out is part of the healing and righteousness am deeply saddened by the profound pain Sasha Perigo suffers and which she says I caused. “
He said his “memory of these events is different from their memory”.
“I believed then as now that our relationship was completely consensual,” he said. “We tried a recovery process in April and I will continue to work to understand why and how she feels that I harmed her.”
Jacobo said he was on leave from work and was resigning “with immediate effect” from the building inspectorate.
Perigo, who did not respond to a request for comment, also wrote: “He has not only crossed the lines with other women in the past, but continued to do so weeks after our conversation,” but did not provide any further details regarding the other women .
Jacobo was Commissioner for the San Francisco Building Inspectorate and Vice President of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District. He also chairs the Health Committee of the SF Latino Task Force and is the director of community engagement and public policy for the nonprofit TODCO Group on Housing.
He previously served as the Californian Latino press secretary in Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and served as legislative adviser to District 6 supervisor Jane Kim.
Jacobo did not respond to a request for further comments, nor did the Building Inspection Commission, Calle 24, the SF Latino Task Force or the TODCO Group.
In a statement shared on Twitter, San Francisco Regulatory Authority Shamann Walton said, “My thoughts are with the victim for their courage and courage in speaking out on this dire situation that no one should ever experience. These are very serious allegations against a city commissioner . ”
“One of the reasons I kept this story to myself for so long is because I didn’t mean to hurt Jon by coming forward,” Perigo concluded in her document. “I took great care of him and it will break my heart forever that someone I once admired could hurt me this way.
“But going on means accepting that Jon isn’t who I thought he was. I have to free myself from the burden of protecting him from the consequences. “
People who have been sexually assaulted can find resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.
