John D. Jessup, 49, Shirley, is a Hancock County Commissioner accused of sexual assault in Las Vegas. He is currently in a Las Vegas jail waiting for a trial set for February 2025, according to court records.
HANCOCK COUNTY — The Hancock County commissioner accused of sexual assault in Las Vegas will have his day in court in six months. A trial for John D. Jessup has been set for Feb. 24, 2025, in a Las Vegas courtroom.
The move comes after the two sides in the case were not able to reach any kind of agreement on the charge, which accuses Jessup, 49, Shirley, of sexually assaulting a woman while in Las Vegas in January after what court records say was a “drunken night” on the town.
Jessup is a Republican Hancock County Commissioner serving Vernon, Green and Brown townships whose term ends at the end of the year. He has not been able to do his job since he was arrested and taken to Las Vegas to face the charge in mid-June.
Jessup, however, is one of seven candidates on the ballot in the general election set for Nov. 5. Jessup is trying to earn one of three open seats on the Hancock County Council. Should he be one of the top three vote-getters, his new job would start Jan. 1, 2025.
County officials tell the Daily Reporter they asked Jessup, who admitted in court documents to assaulting the woman in Las Vegas back in January, to step down from his role as county commissioner and to also take his name off the ballot in November for a county council seat, but Jessup refused.
When Jessup was first arrested, county officials noted there was little they could do to get Jessup off the ballot or remove him from his duties as a commissioner unless he is convicted of a felony.
“John will remain on the ballot for Councilman at Large,” Hancock County GOP Chairwoman Janice Silvey said shortly after Jessup was arrested. “The only way the party can remove a candidate from the ballot is if they have been convicted of a felony.”
Should Jessup be voted onto the county council in November, county officials say if he is convicted of the sexual assault crime he can be immediately removed from the council.
According to court documents surrounding the investigation against Jessup, he is quoted as saying, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” and from an interview conducted by the Shirley Police Department (SPD) several months after the alleged incident, Jessup admitted to sexually assaulting a woman he had traveled to Las Vegas with.
The report states Jessup told local officials there was “nothing criminal about this,” and that it was a “f***ed-up, drunk night” before Jessup admitted to touching the woman’s private parts, the report said.
Officials from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) described the assault in a 15-page police report after speaking to the victim, Jessup (via the SPD) and witnesses before filing their report and the sexual assault charge June 8.
Officials with the LVMPD said Jessup and the woman went to Las Vegas on or about January 25, the night they believe the assault occurred.
According to the report, the assault took place at Harrah’s Las Vegas, 3400 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada. The initial police report noted a detective with the LVMPD Sex Crime Unit was assigned the case on Feb. 7 after the victim filed a police report either on our about Jan. 27.
Sexual assault is considered a Category A felony in Nevada, which is the most serious level of felony in the state. It is illegal to engage in sexual penetration either by force or without lawful consent. The sentence for a sexual assault conviction depends on several factors, including the victim’s age, whether the victim was injured, and the defendant’s criminal history. According to Las Vegas statutes, for forced sexual penetration or sexual penetration without the ability to consent, the maximum penalty is life with the possibility of parole after 10 years.
Jessup is currently an inmate and is being held in the Clark County Jail in Nevada under a $100,000 cash bond. That’s where he’s been since his initial arrest in mid-June after being transported to Las Vegas.
