Jon Jacobo resigns city position, responds to rape allegations

An influential San Francisco city commissioner is stepping down from his position after a woman alleged Friday that he raped her earlier this year.

Jon Jacobo, member of the building inspection commission, co-founder of the community organization Latino Task Force, and policy director for Tenants and Owners Development Corporation, allegedly raped a woman on April 4, according to the allegation posted by the victim on Twitter.

Since the allegation, other prominent San Francisco officials shared solidarity with the woman. Supervisor Shamann Walton said his office is meeting with the city attorney to discuss legal options and asked for Jacobo to resign from the Building Inspection Commission, which he agreed to.

Walton said on Twitter:

“My thoughts go out to the victim for her courage and bravery for speaking out on this awful situation that no one should ever experience. … We must support women who are victims of sexual assault.”

The woman says she does not plan to press charges, but wanted to release her story to free herself “from the burden of shielding him from consequences.”

The woman’s statement read:

“One of the reasons I kept this story to myself for so long is that I didn’t want to hurt Jon by coming forward. … I cared about him deeply, and I’ll forever be heartbroken that someone I once admired could violate me in this way.”

In response to the allegations, Jacobo said, “every victim of trauma needs to be heard, and the process of speaking out is a part of healing and justice.”

Jacobo is taking a leave of absence from his work in addition to his resignation from the Building Inspection Commission.

Jacobo said on Twitter:

“My memory of these events is different than her memory. … I believed then, as I do now, that our relationship was completely consensual. In April, we attempted a restorative process and I will continue to work to understand why and how she feels I caused her harm.”