Krystall Jackson, 39, was arrested on Friday within hours of a phone call made to police reporting the suspected sexual assault of a 14-year-old student in the Kings Canyon Unified School District.

“As of right now, we do not have additional victims but we can’t say for certain whether or not there are additional victims,” Fresno County Sheriff Lt. Brandon Pursell said in a Friday evening press conference broadcast by Fox affiliate KMPH, noting that Jackson had been a long-time educator in a number of schools in the Central Valley area. Pursell encouraged any other possible assault victims to come forward.

Jackson was charged with four counts of rape, one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child — which is defined as three or more acts of abuse over a period of three months or more — one count of oral copulation with a child, one count of communicating with a child with the intent to commit a felony and one count of meeting with a child for lewd purposes. Her bail was set at $365,000, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. California inmate records reflect that she was bonded out on Saturday.

According to police, Jackson began her career as a teacher in the Kings Canyon Unified School District in 2020, where her role was to supervise students utilizing the district’s independent study program. The 14-year-old boy was enrolled as a homeschool student through the Mountain View Independent School, an Alternative School of Choice in the district. Jackson was reportedly his supervising instructor, authorities said.

California law, while not explicitly authorizing the homeschooling of children, offers parents and students a number of means to attain that end. This includes a system of independent study programs and schools that, as of the 2021 school year, most districts are required to maintain. In those programs, the law specifies that students must receive a certain amount of instruction from, as well as one-on-one interactions with, a certified teacher. This stipulation is depending on the students’ grade level.

Jackson met the student, as she reportedly did with many others, at Dunlap Leadership Academy once weekly, the Fresno Sheriff Lt. Pursell explained. Following the accusation against Jackson, investigators collected evidence from the academy.

“We were able to get some forensic evidence that is corroborating to the statement we are getting,” Pursell added.

Citing the accusor’s right to privacy, Pursell did not release further details about the number of assaults Jackson is alleged to have committed against the boy or where the alleged assaults took place.

While police said they’d not obtained warrants to search Jackson’s home or her digital devices as of Friday, Purcell noted that the evidence obtained from other devices was key in their investigation.

“We take this opportunity to remind parents to be diligent, check your kids’ cell phones, ask them about their days and just be very engaged in their online lives, also,” he added.

The school district issued a statement last week to Central Valley CBS affiliate KGPE noting that the district was cooperating with the investigation and was providing counseling to students, and added that it could not comment on personnel matters.

MEGAN CARPENTIER | Contributed

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Now, three of the women who first accused Dr. Robicheaux say they want out of the case after being mistreated and “dragged through the mud” by a district attorney.

The Scandal That Shocked Newport Beach

The case first came to light several years ago, when Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas first announced that Dr. Robicheaux and Riley had been charged with sexually assaulting two women – one in April 2016 and another in October 2016. In both cases, prosecutors say the couple met the women at a restaurant in Newport Beach or bar before bringing them back to Robicheaux’s apartment.

In one case, a woman reached out to the police after waking up in Dr. Robicheaux’s apartment while being sexually assaulted. She screamed for help, leading a neighbor to call 9-1-1. After getting a search warrant to raid his home, police say they found thousands of images and videos of intoxicated women that were filmed by the doctor and his girlfriend. They also found illegal weapons and large quantities of drugs, including ecstasy and cocaine.

A few days after the charges came down, over a dozen people came out with their own allegations against the doctor. At the time, prosecutors described some of these individuals as “potential credible victims.” The allegations went back more than a decade, with several incidents occurring out of state. After sorting through the testimony, the DA announced that it would increase the scope of the investigation to include five additional victims, bringing the total to seven.

“Through the strength of the first two victims, courageous women have come forward, as we believe there are more out there,” said Rackauckas. “Nobody has a pass to rape, to have sexual contact with you when you are past the point of consent.”

Both Robicheaux and Riley pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys dismissed the notion that these encounters were nonconsensual.

“We unequivocally deny all allegations of non-consensual sex and absolutely deny any allegations that we have ever secretly drugged anyone for the purpose of having sex with them,” a statement from the couple read. “We have both passed polygraph tests on each of the questions and we look forward to the truth coming out.”

Backing Out of the Case

The case then went to newly elected Orange County DA Todd Spitzer, who replaced Rackauckas in 2020. Spitzer caused a stir when he announced that prosecutors didn’t have enough evidence to proceed with the case. He also accused Rackauckas, a political rival, of mishandling the initial investigation. In court papers, the new DA described Robicheaux and Riley as swingers and their sexual episodes and drug use as consensual.

“We have represented to the court on multiple occasions that we do not have the evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore we cannot legally, ethically, and morally proceed with the prosecution of this case,” Spitzer said at the time. “My sworn duty is to pursue justice and ensure that the rights of victims and defendants are protected, and we are reviewing the court’s ruling to determine the next steps for this case.” However, Judge Gregory Jones declined to dismiss the case before the victims had a chance to testify.

“The public has heard from the politicians. The public has never heard from the alleged victims. Any objective analysis of this case leads to the conclusion that these charges should be put before a jury,” Jones wrote. “A back-room dismissal by prosecutors without the alleged victims ever having the opportunity to be heard is contrary to the core values of our legal process and the interests of the public.”

Last month, the CA Attorney General’s office filed a motion asking the court to scale back the charges against the couple, citing a lack of evidence.

The attorneys representing the victims were quick to criticize the AG’s decision to dismiss five counts of rape and three counts of kidnapping against Robicheaux and Riley, bringing the scope of the case down to just one victim instead of seven. They also accuse Spitzer and his colleagues of collaborating with the lawyers representing Robicheaux to sabotage the case.

Now, three of the women say they are dropping out of the case. Deputy Attorney General Yvette Martinez said the women “had an elected official who was supposed to advocate on their behalf drag them through the mud.” “They were grossly mistreated,” she added.

In previous comments, law enforcement officials accused the victims of not cooperating with the investigation, but it’s not clear if these are the same women who want to drop out of the case.

Judge Bromberg has indicated that he expects to rule on the AG’s request to dismiss some of the charges against Robicheaux and Riley on July 10th.

STEVEN BRIGGS | Contributed

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — In hours of often tearful testimony, a woman told a judge Tuesday that she was going in and out of consciousness on a night 18 years ago when she said she found actor Danny Masterson raping her.

“When I came to, he was on top of me and he was inside of me,” said the woman, identifying herself on the witness stand only as Jen B. “The first thing I recall is grabbing his hair to pull him off.”

The testimony came at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, where a judge is deciding whether there is probable cause to order a trial for the “That ’70s Show” actor, who is accused of the rapes of three women. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were victims of sexual abuse but will sometimes use their names when they choose to come forward and identify themselves publicly.

Masterson has denied the charges, and his lawyer Thomas Mesereau said at a previous hearing that he “is absolutely not guilty and we’re going to prove it.”

Jen B. testified that she and Masterson were part of the same group of friends who were all tied to the Church of Scientology in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and that she had gone to Masterson’s house to pick up a set of keys on April 25, 2003, and got stuck there.

She said Masterson had given her a drink with vodka in it at her request, her first of the night, but said she was “blurry,” weak and queasy about 20 minutes later, and had no strength to resist as Masterson threw her in his jacuzzi.

She said when she got out she couldn’t even sit up. A mutual friend, Luke Watson, tried to help her.

“I couldn’t walk or stand, so he put me on the tile on the ground,” said Jen B., who began crying but remained composed throughout her testimony. “I said ’Luke I can’t see,’ and he said ‘open your eyes,’ and I didn’t know my eyes were closed. I couldn’t open my eyelids. I felt really really sick.”

She testified that Masterson carried her upstairs to the bathroom next to his bedroom, saying she needed to throw up. She said she vomited on her hair and he mocked and berated her for it, then put her in the shower.

She said she began losing consciousness but was awake to find Masterson soaping her bare breasts. She said she tried to punch him in the face but was too weak and only landed lightly on his chest.

She testified that he put her on the bed and raped her, and has only flashes of memory in the minutes that followed. She said that after she failed to get Masterson off her by pulling his hair, she put a pillow in his face, but he pushed it back on her.

She said he pulled a gun out of his nightstand drawer to threaten her.

During cross-examination, Mesereau challenged her over why the gun made no appearance in a police report she filed the following year.

“Do you think that the police just forgot to put it in?” Mesereau said. Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo forbade the question after a prosecution objection.

Mesereau’s cross-examination was to continue later Tuesday.

Jen B. testified that in the following days, bruises appeared on her wrists and neck area, and she had incredible pain in her anus and vagina, where it felt like she had been repeatedly stabbed.

She said that the leadership of the Church of Scientology, of which her parents and all her friends were members, strongly discouraged her from going to the police, pointing out that by policy she would be declared a “suppressive person” if she made a report against a member in good standing like Masterson.

“I would lose my family and everyone I knew,” she said, though in June 2004 she decided to go to the police anyway.

Mesereau said she had “mischaracterized” the Scientology response.

Before the hearing began, Mesereau argued that that references to the church or harassment of the women by officials and members should not be allowed. He alleged that the prosecution and lead detective in the case had shown “religious bias in the most blatant form.”

The judge declined to issue a blanket ban, but she said she would allow the witnesses to discuss the church as it affected their state of mind.

In a civil lawsuit that the women filed against the church and Masterson, the church denied ever engaging in any harassment.

Masterson, 45, sat in court and occasionally took notes and had no clear response to the testimony. He has been charged in a Los Angeles County court with three counts of rape by force or fear for alleged attacks that occurred in 2001 and 2003.

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