Jacob Elder: ‘I have been exonerated from the sexual assault allegation’

Jacob Elder, a candidate for Missoula mayor, said in a Facebook post this weekend he was “exonerated from the sexual assault allegation against me.”

“I now feel an unwavering resolve to help fix a broken system as I do not want anyone else to be robbed of life and liberty,” Elder said in the Saturday post. “I have now made it a goal to advocate relentlessly for survivors and for people falsely accused and imprisoned!”

Elder is a student at the University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law. Last month, he confirmed in a phone call that he was under investigation at UM for “sexual assault” and for being a “sexual predator.”

He declined to answer questions Monday in a phone call, and he did not provide answers by press time to questions sent to him via email.

In July 2020, UM entered into a contract with Grand River Solutions, a California firm that describes its specialty in part as providing Title IX support services to institutions of higher education. The agreement with UM said the firm would assign two senior staff members with training in sexual violence investigations and due process to investigate “potential policy violation(s).”

“The investigators will make factual findings and, if requested, come to a conclusion as to what is known about the allegations and whether respondent(s) violated the university’s policies,” the contract said.

Monday, UM confirmed that Grand River Solutions had delivered the report or reports outlined in its contract. However, UM could not confirm Elder’s statement because the institution does not comment on the specifics of an investigation.

UM procedures note its investigation process is different than a criminal process.

Elder, 28, declined Monday to answer questions. However, in a May 5 phone call with the Daily Montanan, he said the allegations arose after he went on a date: “I had asked her (his date) for a kiss, and she wasn’t OK with it.”

In that earlier phone call, Elder said UM conducted an investigation in early 2020 and found he had not violated the student code of conduct. At the time, Elder declined to provide a document confirming the result.

In the May 5 phone call, Elder said a Facebook page started in July with “sexual predator rhetoric,” and he said UM informed him a new investigation had opened based on the same issue, and an outside firm would investigate. Elder said he then learned the woman also alleged that “I had grabbed her crotch and wouldn’t let it go.”

“I can assure you there is no evidence,” he said at the time.

Monday, Elder declined to provide documentation, comment on the investigation process, or answer questions about the specific allegations.

In his Facebook post, however, Elder said, “likely, some people find it difficult to accept that most men are irreversibly damaged when falsely accused of rape or sexual assault.” He said “the prevailing cultural discourse” has an influence on law enforcement authorities.

“Often, false accusers are broken and come from environments filled with crime and violence — broken people trapped in chaotic lives,” Elder wrote. “Unfortunately, revenge against the wrong people is a common catalyst.

“To my accuser, I forgive you, and the God that I serve forgives you as well. I wish you healing and closure to any trauma you may have had.”

Title IX grievance procedures on the UM website note the university presumes a respondent “has not engaged in prohibited conduct until it has made a final determination at the conclusion of the grievance proceeding.” The standard used is the “preponderance of the evidence,” and the university aims to complete investigations in 60 days.

“The University investigation is an administrative process and is not the same as a legal civil or criminal process,” notes the procedure. “… Under the policy, individuals are presumed not to have violated the policy unless the investigator finds a preponderance of evidence that the policy was violated. A preponderance of the evidence standard weighs whether it is more likely than not that a policy violation occurred.”

UM spokesman Dave Kuntz declined to comment on the timeframe for the investigation. He confirmed any party can appeal the outcome of an investigation to the Title IX office. He also said it was not yet clear whether a hearing would be part of the process.

Elder is the only candidate running against incumbent Mayor John Engen, who is seeking his fifth term in office. Filing closes June 21.