Jon Jacobo, SF Political Organizer Accused of Rape, to Be Released Pending Trial

Updated 10:55 a.m. Wednesday

A judge has ruled that former political activist Jon Jacobo can be released from custody ahead of a preliminary hearing in his sexual assault and domestic violence case.

Jacobo was indicted in early August, nearly three years after a colleague first publicly accused him of rape. Since three additional women have accused the former City Hall aide of sexual assault, according to San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

While he awaits trial, Jacobo will be placed on home monitoring, Judge Kenneth Wine ruled Tuesday. He will have to surrender his passport, stay home aside from medical appointments and not drink alcohol.

As of Wednesday morning, when the court was scheduled to set a preliminary hearing, Jacobo was still in custody. According to his attorney, Martina Avalos, Jacobo cannot be released until the sheriff’s department ensures his home is fit for home detention. He will likely be released Thursday or Friday, she said.

The hearing was set for Sept. 18.

Jacobo’s release will follow the “‘strictest conditions’ of home detention, the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “He was further ordered not to contact any victims or witnesses involved in the case,” the statement reads.

Representatives from the district attorney’s office had objected to Jacobo’s release, saying it would pose a threat to the public. Wine said Tuesday that his decision was based on letters of support received by the court and “many great deeds” done by Jacobo, who was a leader at the affordable housing nonprofit TODCO until April, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

He is facing one count of rape by force, one count of oral copulation by force, one count of sexual battery by restraint and one count of domestic violence. He has pleaded not guilty.

Sasha Perigo, a housing rights advocate, first publicly accused Jacobo in 2021. The two worked together in the affordable housing space.

“Predators are often able to escape meaningful accountability when it comes to violence and abuse — both through the criminal legal system and outside of it,” she and other survivors wrote in a public statement after the charges were announced last week.