Off to prison
Clark County District Court Judge Joe Hardy has sentenced John Jessup, 50, to a 6-15 year stretch in prison after finding the ex-politician guilty of sexual assault on his daughter after a gambling and drinking spree in Las Vegas.
my life feels like it’s shattered”
“Since my biological father sexually assaulted me on Jan 26 last year, my life feels like it’s shattered,” Jessup’s daughter Rachel Keesling told the court through tears on Thursday.
Jessup took Keesling to Vegas to celebrate her 21st birthday. They started the celebration at Harrah’s Las Vegas, gambling and drinking.
According to court records, the ex Hancock County Commissioner and Councilman continued to ply his daughter with alcohol throughout the night with the sexual assault taking place back at their hotel room while she was blacked out.
Night to forget
While still at Harrah’s, the ex-Indiana politician urged Keesling to “keep up” with his drinking despite her pleading she’d had enough after three Long Island iced teas.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”
“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” the prosecution accused Jessup of saying to her as he continued ordering her drinks. The disgraced father then took Keesling to a strip club, leaving her at the bar while Jessup went to a private room.
When Keesling started vomiting, the pair returned to their hotel, where Jessup needed a wheelchair to get his incapacitated daughter back to their room.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal cited court records stating Keesling found herself naked with Jessup touching her when she regained consciousness.
“Once she moved, he stopped,” and then apologized.
In tears at the Regional Justice Center courthouse in Vegas on Thursday, Jessup’s daughter asked the court for the lengthiest possible prison sentence.
Keesling stated that after voters in Indiana elected her father as Councilman, despite the sexual assault allegations, she decided to come forward publicly as the victim of Jessup’s “sickening” actions.
Deputy District Attorney Morgan Thomas said what Jessup did “was criminal, and it was a sexual assault.”
“Fathers are supposed to protect their children. They’re not supposed to violate them when they are vulnerable,” she stated.
Consequences and trauma
Judge Hardy stated that besides serving time in prison, Jessup will need to register as a sex offender.
His daughter, meanwhile, has had to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, “attends therapy and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety and depression.”
