A Republican official in Indiana has pleaded guilty to sexual assault just days after he was elected to a new position.
According to FOX59, John Jessup, 49, a current Commissioner for Hancock County, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Las Vegas in January.
The victim told police that Jessup plied her with alcohol before taking advantage of her in his hotel room and sexually assaulting her.
Witnesses told police that throughout the night Jessup repeatedly said “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”
Jessup was arrested in Hancock County and extradited to Las Vegas in June. He has been in Nevada under House arrest since then.
Despite the serious allegations he faces and the fact that he is under arrest in another state, Jessup remained in office as a commissioner and stayed on the ballot as a candidate for Hancock County Council in the November election.
He was one of three Republicans elected to the council, receiving over 15,000 votes. The two Democrats who were on the ballot barely cracked 10,000 each, FOX59 noted.
Last Wednesday, Jessup pled guilty to one count of attempted sexual assault, a Class B felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2025.
Jessup will have to resign since convicted felons are not allowed to serve in elected office in Indiana.
Jessup told the Greenfield Reporter that he plans to resign from the council as soon as he’s sworn in.
“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,” he said.
Hancock County Republican Chair Janice D. Silvey told FOX59 that a caucus will be held to fill his position.
