EMERYVILLE — It started off when a teen girl reported being the victim of domestic violence by her boyfriend.
Then police learned her “boyfriend” was actually a man in his late 20s, and the investigation took a much darker turn, authorities said. Now, the man allegedly behind it all has been charged with sexual abuse and assault, court records show.
Jacob Lasso, 30, is behind bars in lieu of $125,000 bail facing felony charges of committing a lewd act on a child, unlawful sexual intercourse, and a misdemeanor count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, court records show. He has pleaded not guilty and his next court date has been set for Aug. 14.
The alleged victim reported in March, when Lasso was 29, that she and Lasso had “held her against the wall by placing his hands around her throat and chocking (sic) her,” police said in court filings. She reportedly said the two had been “dating” for roughly six months up to that point.
During the argument where he allegedly assaulted her, the girl claimed Lasso said he wanted to “(expletive)” her friend, who was also underage. Detectives later allegedly found videos depicting some of the alleged sexual abuse, authorities said.
The charges were filed on July 7. At a pretrial hearing, a judge denied a defense request to free Lasso without bail, court records show.