By Roxanna Jarvis
SACRAMENTO – Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley turned down a passionate plea this week to lower defendant Jairus Sexton’s bail of $850,000—the judge said he could not lower bail because of a serious public safety and flight risk.
Tammy Soloman, defendant Jairus Sexton’s court-appointed counsel (CAC), requested her client’s bail be reduced to allow him to be released and access his medications.
“He is open to anything the court orders—ankle monitor, anything that would make the court comfortable with his release—but he does want to get out,” Solomon explained about Sexton.
She added, “He has high blood pressure and he’s not getting his medications while he’s in custody, which is very dangerous with the pandemic that is going on.”
Sexton is charged with a number of serious felony violations including lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, possession of child pornography, and unlawful use of an individual’s personal identifying information.
In her opening statement during the bail hearing, Soloman gave an account of 24-year-old Sexton’s life up until his arrest.
“He’s been (in Sacramento) his whole life. He started in foster care at five years old but went on to graduate from Monterey Trail High School. He then enrolled at Sierra College. He got his degree in May of 2019 with a social science major,” she told the court.
“He transferred to (Sacramento State) where he was getting a social work major degree. He had over a 3.0 GPA. He had three weeks left at Sac State when he was arrested,” she added.
Soloman continued, informing the court that while in college, Sexton worked a job in home care—both of which are no longer options in his life because of the allegations surrounding his arrest.
“While the charges against Mr. Sexton are serious, there are no allegations of any force or fear or any kind of manipulation at all. It’s a little unclear how the transactions came about but they were all consensual,” explained Soloman.
Deputy District Attorney Bruce Chang disagreed with this statement, noting, “It actually isn’t unclear how these events happened.”
Chang went on to discuss the two nights in which Sexton reached out to a 13-year-old boy.
“The defendant reached out through social media to—the first night—a 13-year-old. He arranged a meeting place…and picked up the 13-year-old at [his] house and drove him to a location some distance away where he did some of the conduct that’s charged,” explained Chang.
The DDA said Sexton allegedly reached out again to the same 13-year-old the following night. Sexton arranged a meeting place with the minor, this time having the victim’s younger brother (who was stated to be either 11 or 12) come along as well.
Sexton was said to have picked the children up at their house, transported them to the same remote area, and committed the acts currently charged against him.
“He [Sexton] admitted that he transported the children; he admitted that he knew that they were both young and that they were both underage,” argued Chang.
“As far as Mrs. Soloman’s statement that there was no force involved, that’s true. But as to consent as a matter of law, children or minors of this age cannot consent to a kidnapping for sexual purposes,” he concluded.
When Judge Frawley asked about Sexton’s current bail amount, Soloman acknowledged that it is already set at a reduced amount. “It’s probably set low, but he can’t make that bail so it doesn’t matter,” added Soloman.
Chang confirmed that Sexton’s bail was set lower than a normal bail amount for the conduct for which he is charged. Yet, he reminded the court of how much Sexton’s bail amount would be if not reduced—$1 million with the charge of multiple victims alone.
“There’s also evidence as to the mention of…kidnapping to commit a (lewd and lascivious act) for which bail would be set at $2 million,” Chang said, requesting the court keep bail at the current amount of $850,000.
“What’s the sentence if he were convicted of everything he’s charged with?” asked Judge Frawley.
“The sentence would be approximately 25 years,” replied Chang after some thought. Chang added Sexton could be charged with life in prison if “charging decisions are made that way.”
In her closing argument, Soloman appealed to the court to release Sexton or set his bail low enough to bail him out.
“I understand the court has to take the charges as set forth, but Mr. Sexton just doesn’t have any past to warrant. It’s his first time being in custody. He will show up to court. He will do whatever the court asks of him. He just wants to get back to school and work and be safe during COVID by getting his medication,” insisted Soloman.
Judge Frawley shortly after that made the decision to keep Sexton’s bail at $850,000. “Considering public safety and flight risk, I’m going to deny the motion and keep bail as set.”
Roxanna Jarvis is a fourth-year student at UC Berkeley, currently majoring in political science with a minor in public policy. She is from Sacramento, California.
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