Jessup takes plea deal in Las Vegas sexual assault case, will be sentenced in April
HANCOCK COUNTY (DAILY REPORTER) — Hancock County Commissioner John Jessup, accused of sexual assault from a January incident in Las Vegas, had a settlement conference surrounding the case Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas.
In an interview with the Daily Reporter Wednesday night, Jessup, who is on home arrest in Las Vegas, said he has taken a plea deal. The agreement drops the Level A felony he was facing to a Level B felony, and he will be sentenced to a lesser charge on April 24, 2025.
Jessup, who won a seat on the Hancock County Council following the general election earlier this month, will see his current role as a Hancock County Commissioner close at the end of the year. Though Jessup was elected to the Hancock County Council, any elected official convicted of a felony is not allowed to serve, so he will have to step down from his seat on the council once he’s legally named a felon in late April.
Jessup however told the Daily Reporter that he plans to step down from his council seat as soon as he is officially sworn in which can only come after the election is certified. That is scheduled for Friday.
“It’s been my greatest honor serving the people of Hancock County and I’m deeply, deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry for the shame that I brought to the county,” Jessup said.
As for the criminal case against Jessup, according to Nevada state law, a Level B felony in Las Vegas can still result in multiple years in prison. Jessup was facing 20 years to life in prison for the Level A felony charge.
Jessup noted the crime he is admitting to is a probationable offense. However, he feels the Las Vegas prosecutor will be asking for prison time to be served.
“We’ll be arguing for probation while the prosecution will argue from eight to 20 (years),” Jessup said. “I didn’t have much of a choice today, it was either take the deal or go to trial … The other deal that was available for me today was to take four years in prison.”
As for Jessup’s standing in the community as a newly elected council member, Jessup said he told county officials he would step down as soon as he is officially sworn-in in Las Vegas via paperwork sent there so that his position can be replaced via a caucus at a date to be determined before the current year is out.
Republican Party Chair Janice Silvey said that, as soon as the Hancock County Clerk Lisa Lofgren receives the paperwork from Jessup indicating he has stepped down from the county council seat, the Republican Party will organize the caucus and allow candidates to step forward.
“I’ll have 30 days after we get the paperwork saying he’s stepped down to have the caucus,” Silvey said.
Jessup, who told the Daily Reporter in a previous interview that he has been attending alcohol abuse classes while in Las Vegas, said on Wednesday night that he regrets his actions in January that led to the original sexual abuse charge and the troubles he’s caused the victim and the county.
“It’s time for me to focus on my personal life,” Jessup said.
Jessup will at the least have to stay in Las Vegas under house arrest until his sentencing hearing in late April. After that, it will be determined by the judge in the case as to if he’ll be able to serve any kind of non-prison part of the sentence in Las Vegas or in Indiana.
Prior to the settlement hearing Wednesday, Jessup had a trial date set for Feb. 24. Now that a plea deal has been reached via the settlement conference, Jessup said he will continue with the alcohol abuse classes and continue to try and find work in Las Vegas while he awaits sentencing.
Court documents detailed the sexual assault and how Jessup reportedly said “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” before buying a woman he traveled to Las Vegas with in January an excessive number of Long Island Iced Teas. The officials report then stated he sexually assaulted the woman.
When officials from the Shirley Police Department interviewed Jessup for Las Vegas officials about the allegation, Jessup was asked why the woman wanted to leave Las Vegas soon after getting there, to which Jessup replied, “there was inappropriate contact” between himself and the victim, the court report stated.
This story was originally published by the Daily Reporter on Nov. 14, 2024.