Lincoln police officer accused of child sex abuse is back in Sacramento jail
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Officer Timothy Jaekel appeared for his arraignment Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court.
- Jaekel is accused of sexually abusing four girls over several years.
- A judge increased Jaekel’s bail and ordered him back into custody at the jail.
A Lincoln police officer accused of sexually abusing children in Sacramento County was returned into custody Tuesday after a judge increased his bail at his arraignment hearing.
Timothy Scott Jaekel, 52, was arrested Oct. 16 on seven counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 years old. He was booked at Sacramento County Main Jail but released the following morning after posting a $250,000 bail bond.
Jaekel returned Tuesday morning to Sacramento Superior Court for his postponed arraignment hearing. Joel Weinstein, Jaekel’s attorney, entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client.
Sacramento County sheriff’s officials, who arrested Jaekel, have alleged that Jaekel sexually abused four female family members from the ages of 8 to 16 over several years.
Deputy District Attorney Allen Tsikerman, who is prosecuting Jaekel, asked the judge to increase the police officer’s bail to $700,000, an amount appropriate for the charges he faces and the potential prison sentence if convicted.
More criminal charges
The prosecutor told the judge that there were years of Jaekel making sexual comments toward the four girls that show a “series of grooming conduct” toward sexual abuse. He said Jaekel will face additional sexual abuse charges as soon as he can get approval from authorities to prosecute crimes that allegedly occurred in Placer County.
“There are more charges coming,” Tsikerman said in court.
The defense attorney said his client a long history as a police officer with ties to the community and does not present a risk of fleeing while free on bail. He told the judge that Jaekel is facing allegations that go back five to 13 years, and his family disputes these allegations.
“My client looks forward to responding to evidence in court, not speculation,” Weinstein said in court.
The prosecutor argued that Jaekel, as currently charged, could face a sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. Tsikerman said the additional charges he spoke about could result in a maximum life in prison sentence as a sexually violent predator if convicted.
Judge David Bonilla said the $250,000 bail amount is not adequate for the criminal charges Jaekel faces, along with the potential maximum sentence. He said also took into consideration the allegations of a “pattern of grooming behavior.”
Bonilla ordered Jaekel back into custody with his bail increased to $700,000. The judge also granted criminal protective orders that instruct Jaekel to not contact and stay 100 yards away from the victims listed in the case.
The judge scheduled Jaekel to return to court Nov. 21 for further proceedings in his case. Jaekel remained in custody Tuesday afternoon at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
The prosecutor told the judge that he intends to argue over a filed bail motion that asks the court to order Jaekel ineligible for bail and keep him in custody for the duration of his criminal case.
Placer County jobs
The Lincoln Police Department has said that Jaekel was placed on administrative leave in June when the department learned of the child sexual abuse investigation. Police officials said it was a standard procedure in these types of criminal cases to maintain the integrity of both the investigation and the department.
Police officials said the department is fully cooperating with sheriff’s officials and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. The Police Department declined to provide any further details about Jaekel or his arrest, citing the ongoing investigation.
Jaekel has been a police officer for 12 years, including as a school resource officer and SWAT team member with the Lincoln Police Department from November 2004 through December 2010, according to his LinkedIn profile. He worked as a police officer from June 2011 through January 2015 for the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia.
After returning to Placer County, Jaekel also worked as a code enforcement officer for the city of Lincoln from August 2022 through October 2023 and in code compliance enforcement for Placer County from May 2020 through August 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Compensation records provided by the state to Transparent California show that Jaekel last year earned $173,172 in total pay and benefits. Those records also show him working as a Placer County code compliance officer for three years; earning $63,934 in 2020, $112,919 in 2021 and $87,575 in 2022.
Sacramento sheriff’s officials have said they received a call on June 23 reporting that four of Jaekel’s female family members had been sexually abused years earlier by the police officer. Deputies spoke to one of the alleged victims, who is now an adult and lives in Arizona, and learned Jaekel was an officer with the Lincoln Police Department in Placer County.
Detectives from the sheriff’s Child Abuse Bureau interviewed the four victims, and they said there had been a long-term pattern of being touched by Jaekel over and under the clothing from the ages of 8 to 16 in Sacramento County, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s officials said that Jaekel also asked one of the children for nude pictures of herself and that each of the four victims witnessed Jaekel inappropriately touching the other female family members.
