Las Vegas police release details of Jessup’s sexual assault arrest – The Daily Reporter

HANCOCK COUNTY – Details of a night of drinking in Las Vegas in which Hancock County Commissioner John Jessup was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he was with in Nevada have been released by authorities.

The report quotes Jessup, 49, of Shirley, as saying in an interview conducted by the Shirley Police Department (SPD) several months after the alleged incident, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” and admitting to sexually assaulting the woman.

The report states that Jessup told local authorities that “there was nothing criminal about it” and that it was a “shitty, drunken night” before admitting to touching the woman’s private parts.

Jessup is currently being held in the Shelby County Jail awaiting extradition to Las Vegas to face sexual assault charges. Jessup is currently a Hancock County Commissioner representing Vernon, Green and Brown townships, but he won a primary election in May to serve on the Hancock County Council in 2025. He is still on the ballot for the November election.

Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) described the assault in a 15-page police report after speaking with the victim, Jessup (through the SPD), and witnesses before filing their report and sexual assault charges on June 8.

LVMPD officials said Jessup and the woman traveled to Las Vegas on or about Jan. 25, the night they believe the assault occurred.

According to the report, the assault took place at Harrah’s Las Vegas, 3400 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada. The initial police report noted that a detective with the LVMPD Sex Crimes Unit was assigned to the case on February 7 after the victim reported the assault to police on or around January 27.

Officers determined that the victim, whose name is redacted in the report, met the detective and told him what happened. The report states that after landing around 4 p.m., the victim said she and Jessup went to Harrah’s Hotel, where they stayed in a twin room.

According to the report, the victim told officers she and Jessup went to the casino and then to the Flamingo and Link, followed by a visit to a gentlemen’s club where Jessup is accused of “plying” the victim Long Island Iced Tea. The victim told officers in the report that Jessup eventually went to a private room with a girl at the strip club while she stayed at the bar and that she tried to drink water but eventually went to the bathroom where she became ill.

The victim told officers that she and Jessup then took a taxi back to the hotel, where she needed a wheelchair to get back to the room but couldn’t remember much due to her intoxication, the report states. Once back in the room, the victim stated that she went into the shower with her clothes on to let the water wash over her. The report states that when she woke up, she was naked in bed with Jessup, who was also naked and sexually assaulting her.

According to the report, after the assault, Jessup quickly got out of bed, got dressed and went downstairs to smoke. She texted him that she wanted to leave, but he told her she couldn’t because the flight couldn’t be rebooked. The victim said when Jessup returned to the room, she pretended to be asleep and made plans to leave the next morning. While she was packing up her things, Jessup reportedly woke up and tried to talk to her and apologize. At one point, he said he should “just kill himself.”

The report goes on to say that LVMPD also spoke to other witnesses who were with Jessup and the woman and who corroborated the woman’s story. One witness told police that Jessup was trying to run for commissioner (actually county council) in Hancock County and that the sexual assault allegation could impact that.

The LVMPD had SPD officers interview Jessup, which the report says happened on May 9. The report says SPD Chief Brian Pryor conducted the interview with Jessup and asked him if he had ever said anything inappropriate to the woman. Jessup responded “Sure I have,” and laughed afterward. Jessup told Pryor that the woman was pretty “drunk,” and he helped her into the shower and removed her wet clothes, the report says.

According to the report, Pryor then asked Jessup why the woman wanted to leave, and Jessup told him that there had been “inappropriate contact” between him and the woman.