Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office passes portion of Foppoli investigation to state prosecutors

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office detectives have passed a portion of their investigation into sexual assault allegations against former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli to prosecutors from the California Attorney General’s office for review as inquiries in two states appear to be nearing a conclusion.

The hand-off is a chance for attorneys to review the investigation for any potential holes and is “a step closer to finalizing the investigation,” Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Juan Valencia said Tuesday. Investigators sent materials to the state prosecutors in mid-February, Valencia said, roughly three months after a two-hour search of Foppoli’s Windsor home.

There was no timeline for when the 11-month investigation might conclude, Valencia said.

Meanwhile, police in Palm Beach, Florida, this week said an investigation there has stalled and been suspended, with no charges filed against the former mayor. That investigation began after reality television star Farrah Abraham accused Foppoli of sexual battery.

Abraham is one of 13 women who have publicly accused Foppoli of sexual assault or misconduct. He has denied the accusations and said that he has not committed any crimes.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office investigation began April 8 amid widespread public outrage that followed the San Francisco Chronicle’s publication of four sexual assault allegations against the mayor and is nearing its one-year anniversary.

The Sheriff’s Office most likely handed over reports on investigations into some of the specific allegations but not all of them, according to Traci Carrillo, a Santa Rosa private attorney who represents seven women who have accused the former mayor.

Her clients have been given separate case numbers by the Sheriff’s Office, she said, indicating there are multiple investigations into Foppoli.

Carrillo, who was a prosecutor in Sonoma and Riverside counties for 15 years before entering private practice, said she did not anticipate the attorney general’s office would make charging decisions before receiving all the investigative reports.

A warrant return from the search of Foppoli’s home in November filed with the Sonoma County Superior Court indicated detectives were specifically looking for two images of women they believe are evidence of a felony, one from 2002 and another from 2017.

With the exception of that search, however, the investigation itself has largely stayed out of public view with law enforcement declining to comment on its focus or reach. Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick has said his department has dedicated significant resources to the case, telling The Press Democrat in November that “we’ve never stopped working this case since its inception.”

The California Attorney General’s Office is overseeing the case. District Attorney Jill Ravitch recused her office after allegations made by Windsor Councilwoman Esther Lemus, who accused Foppoli of sexually assaulting her. Lemus at the time was a deputy district attorney in Ravitch’s office.

Foppoli, 39, for weeks defied widespread and nearly universal calls from constituents and local, state and federal lawmakers who demanded his resignation after the allegations came to light. He faced a budding recall effort before he announced on May 21 that he would step down. He has since floated the possibility of running again for election to the Town Council.

“I’m incredibly relieved to see this investigation wrapping up,” he wrote in a statement on Tuesday about the Sonoma County case. “I have always and continue to stand by my statement that I’m completely innocent of all criminal accusations against me.”

Because of “the incredible thoroughness” of the sheriff’s investigation, Foppoli said, “the public will hopefully have even more confidence in the outcome when I’m exonerated.”

Based on her knowledge of her own clients’ interactions with investigators, Carrillo said there “is more than sufficient evidence to put (Foppoli) in handcuffs.”

The investigation “shows the existence of a sexual predator who shows no remorse and no insight to his behavior and feels emboldened,” Carrillo said.

Foppoli resigned after Farrah Abraham accused him of sexual assault during an encounter in Palm Beach at the end of March 2021. Police there opened a separate investigation following her April 2 police report — six days before the allegations in Sonoma County came to light.

Foppoli on Tuesday said the Florida investigation had been closed. In a phone interview, Capt. Will Rothrock with the Palm Beach Police Department stated the investigation was not closed but was suspended. No charges were filed against Foppoli as a result, Rothrock said.

Abraham’s high-profile civil attorney, Spencer Kuvin, told the Chronicle on Tuesday that he and his client would file a civil lawsuit against Foppoli following the stalled law enforcement investigation. Kuvin did not immediately respond to a voicemail and text message from The Press Democrat.

Some form of civil action appears likely to follow the conclusion of the criminal investigations in Sonoma County. “I’m going to do everything in my power to see to it that justice is done for them,” Carrillo said. “What that looks like remains to be seen.”

On Tuesday, Valencia said the Sheriff’s Office did not intend to issue a public announcement when detectives conclude their investigation into the case and hand the completed report to prosecutors. It would then fall to the California attorney general’s office, which has so far declined to comment on the case, to announce whether charges will be filed, Valencia said.

“We can confirm that we've started to receive investigative details from the sheriff's office,” a spokesperson from the attorney general’s office wrote in a statement, adding that “to protect its integrity, we're unable to comment on an ongoing investigation.”

You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or andrew.graham@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @AndrewGraham88