Ex-Sebastopol Mayor Gets 7 Years for Sexually Abusing a Child

A former mayor of Sebastopol got seven years in prison for sexual misconduct with a minor, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said.

Robert Jacob, 46, allegedly met his victim online in early 2020 when the boy was 14 years old. Over the course of the next year, prosecutors say, Jacob chatted with the victim and eventually the conversations turned sexual.

Jacob sent the boy lewd videos and the victim would go to Jacob's house in Sebastopol under the guise of doing chores for him, prosecutors said. 

According to the Sonoma County DA, Jacob engaged in sexual acts with the boy when he was 14 and 15 years old and made the victim engage in sex acts with another man at his home. 

Jacob pleaded no contest in January to six felony counts including procuring a child to engage in a lewd act with another adult, sexual penetration of a minor, engaging in a lewd act with a minor, sending lewd material to a minor and communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sex crime. 

The case that culminated with Jacob's sentencing Thursday might never have happened without help from the boy he allegedly abused, officials said.

"The victim should be commended for coming forward to report what Mr. Jacob did," District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said. "His bravery in reporting Mr. Jacob's crimes has made the community a safer place."

Jacob, who founded a cannabis dispensary called Peace in Medicine in 2007, was elected to the Sebastopol City Council in 2012 and became mayor the following year.