Ex-politician accused of sexually assaulting daughter during Las Vegas trip sentenced
A judge on Thursday ordered a six- to 15-year prison term for a former Indiana county commissioner who was accused of sexually assaulting his daughter on a trip to Las Vegas.
John Jessup, 50, was charged with one count of sexual assault and pleaded guilty in November to attempted sexual assault. His plea deal specified that prosecutors would retain the right to argue at his sentencing and that Jessup would have no further contact with the victim.
District Judge Joe Hardy said that in addition to the prison sentence, Jessup will be required to register as a sex offender. Jessup served as a Hancock County, Indiana, commissioner and county council member.
Rachel Keesling, Jessup’s daughter, cried as she addressed the court and asked for the lengthiest possible prison sentence. She said she chose to identify herself publicly as the victim of her father’s “sickening” actions after voters elected her father to the council despite the allegations.
“Since my biological father sexually assaulted me on Jan. 26 last year, my life feels like it’s shattered,” Keesling said.
She now attends therapy and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety and depression, she said, and suffers from panic attacks. She said she had to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
Deputy District Attorney Morgan Thomas said Jessup has failed to take responsibility and has blamed others, including his daughter, for his conduct.
“What he did was criminal, and it was a sexual assault,” she said. “Fathers are supposed to protect their children. They’re not supposed to violate them when they are vulnerable.”
Thomas asked for an eight- to 20-year sentence.
Defense attorney Ember Grasso, who requested Jessup get probation, described Jessup as “somebody who has walked the path of conscience as well as he could.”
Jessup chose to accept responsibility and not go to trial, his attorney said. “He confessed to save his soul.”
In his statement to the court, Jessup said he was sorry for the pain he caused his family. After the night in Las Vegas, he said, he realized he was an alcoholic. But he said he wasn’t blaming alcohol for what happened. He has been sober for 451 days, he told the judge, and has lost his children, contact with his grandchildren and his job.
“I’m not the same man I was,” he said.
The January 2024 trip that led to the criminal case was intended to be a celebration of Jessup’s daughter’s 21st birthday, according to prosecutors.
Jessup and his daughter went to the casino floor at Harrah’s to gamble and drink. As Jessup drank, prosecutors said, he urged his daughter to “keep up” with him.
After her third Long Island iced tea, she told Jessup she wanted to take a break. But he kept ordering her drinks, according to court records. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” he was accused of saying to her.
Both Jessup and his daughter continued drinking, she told police, and eventually, he said he wanted to go to a strip club. At a club, Jessup went to a private room and she sat at the bar, according to court records.
Jessup’s daughter began throwing up and the two returned to their hotel, where she was taken back to her room in a wheelchair, records show.
There, she remembered being clothed and in the shower. Then, when she woke up, she was naked and her father was touching her, court documents said.
Once she moved, he stopped, according to records. Jessup then apologized.
When Indiana authorities spoke with Jessup in May 2024, he said he had done “nothing criminal.”
“Defendant told Detectives it was just a ‘(expletive)-up drunk night,’ ” prosecutors said.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.