Robert Jacob, a former mayor of Sebastopol and California cannabis entrepreneur, has plead no contest to six felony charges involving sexual misconduct with a minor. The victim, now 16, reported to investigators that he met Jacob through the gay dating and hookup app, Grindr, in late 2019 or early 2020. The victim claimed that he and Jacob exchanged nude photos and engaged in sexual acts, with Jacob directing the victim to address him as “sir” and “master.” The victim also stated that Jacob blindfolded him during sex and had other unidentified men engage in sexual acts with him, which ended after Jacob confessed to his husband in March 2021.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, six other charges against Jacob were dropped. He faces up to seven years in prison and will be formally sentenced on March 23. A tip about the relationship was received by child protective services in March of last year and was then passed on to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Jacob was elected to the Sebastopol City Council in 2012 and served as mayor in 2013. He was a founder of the medical marijuana dispensary Peace in Medicine and left the council in 2016 to become a caretaker for his mother.