Ex-San Francisco nonprofit leader pleads not guilty to sex assault

SAN FRANCISCO - The former director of a San Francisco nonprofit on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to sex assault charges.

On Monday, the DA charged Jonathan Jacobo with one count of rape, one count of oral copulation by force, one count of sexual battery by restraint and one count of domestic violence. The DA said Jacobo used his position of authority to gain the women's trust, and then their silence.

The 35-year-old is accused of assaulting a former girlfriend in 2021 after she had communicated to him that she did not want any sexual contact.

The DA’s office said Jacobo raped a woman he was previously in a relationship with. The woman "ended the intimate relationship and made it clear to Mr. Jacobo that she was only interested in a platonic friendship," prosecutors said in a statement.

Jacobo sexually assaulted the woman in his home after she had "explicitly communicated to him that she did not want any sexual contact, which he stated he understood," prosecutors said.

At least four women have come forward, claiming to be victims of his at some point over the last nine years.

After court on Tuesday, his attorney, Martina Avalos, said that the charges are "very old."

She said Jacobo had a 2-year-old child and a "wife who loves him very much."

Jacobo resigned from his position with an affordable housing nonprofit called TODCO in April.

A bail hearing is set for Friday.