Sexual Assault Charges Against Jacob Blake Dropped

Wisconsin prosecutors have dropped the sex assault charges against Jacob Blake, the black man whose police shooting left him paralyzed and sparked protests across the country last summer.

Jacob Blake was accused of breaking into the home of the mother of his three sons and sexually assaulting her in May. He was shot by a Kenosha police officer several times in the back as authorities were trying to arrest him in connection with the case on Aug. 23. The sexual assault case was scheduled to go to trial on Monday.

On Friday, prosecutors in Wisconsin revealed that the woman had failed to cooperate with the investigation and walked back her claims. As a result, they decided to drop the felony third-degree sexual assault charge and misdemeanor criminal trespass charge against Jacob Blake.

“This was an agreement reached partly because the victim in this matter was not responsive to the subpoena to appear in court,” said Walworth County District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld. He revealed, however, that while Blake had not been convicted of a crime as an adult, there was a long history of 911 calls from the mother of his children accusing him of domestic violence and property disputes.

Judge Bruce Schroeder told Blake that despite the charges against him being dropped, he had already set a “ghastly example” to his children. “But your life has changed dramatically and perpetually,” he said. “I hope that your medical condition will improve and that you’ll do better, but it does make unrealistic the suggestion that you be imprisoned for these cases,” he added.

Blake’s lawyer revealed that he would remain paralyzed from the waist down and would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He has been staying at a rehabilitation facility in Illinois since the shooting incident.

Authorities are still investigating the shooting of Jacob Blake. Over the summer, the incident sparked weeks of anti-police brutality and violence across the country.