State’s statute of limitations on sexual assault could complicate potential filing of charges

The Sonoma County Sheriff ’s Office has opened a criminal investigation into Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli in response to a Chronicle investigation that has now documented five women’s accounts that he sexually assaulted them between 2002 and 2019. But even if county prosecutors speak to the women and find evidence of wrongdoing, they may have limited ability to file charges.

In California, where four of the women were allegedly assaulted, an intricate and evolving set of laws governs the time limit for bringing charges in sexual assault cases. Generally, the statute of limitations is 10 years for such crimes, meaning the clock may have run out on older accusations against Foppoli, a winemaker who has denied he sexually assaulted any of the women.

Bay Area prosecutors who spoke with

The Chronicle said they could not see a path to prosecute an allegation from New Year’s Day 2004, in which a former campaign volunteer who dated Foppoli said he raped her twice amid a breakup. They also saw no way to pursue a 2006 accusation by Sophia Williams, who said Foppoli groped her and tried to kiss her at his home.

The latest woman to come forward, Shannon McCarthy, said she dated Foppoli for three years, during which he forced her to engage in oral copulation and once cuffed her to a bed and sexually abused her. Those allegations are the oldest, with many dating to 2002.

A more recent allegation against Foppoli — made by Rose Fumoso, who said the mayor groped her and kissed her without her consent in 2019 — appears to fall within California’s time limit. Fumoso was an international intern at a local winery at the time, and has since move back to France.

Older allegations, despite the legal restrictions against them, can be deployed as “prior similars,” which can help prosecutors establish the tendencies of a defendant while pursuing a court case based on a more recent incident, said Michael Cardoza, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor in San Francisco and Alameda counties.

“The court can allow evidence of another sexual offense by the defendant as ‘propensity’ evidence, and if we have it, we always try to use it,” said Sean Gallagher, a deputy district attorney in San Mateo County who used to supervise the sex crimes unit. “Logic tells you that it’s a very relevant fact for a jury to consider.”

The two trials of comedian Bill Cosby illustrate the power of prior allegations to persuade a jury, said Wesley Oliver, a law professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. During the first trial in 2016, a judge allowed one witness to testify about an an incident other than the alleged aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand. The jury failed to come to a verdict, resulting in a mistrial.

Then, a reckoning on sexual assault gripped the nation. During the retrial, in 2018, the same judge allowed five witnesses, and the jury reached a guilty verdict. “What’s different between the two trials?” Oliver asked. “The ‘Me Too’ movement.”

He said attorneys and scholars have debated whether it’s fair to consider older accusations against defendants in sexual assault cases. Where prosecutors see an appropriate way to show a jury a defendant’s proclivity toward a crime, critics worry about prejudice.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said Thursday that her office is reviewing the allegations published in The Chronicle.

Through his attorney, Bethany Kristovich of Los Angeles, Foppoli “categorically” denied the first four women’s allegations. The mayor did not immediately respond to accusations made by McCarthy, who spoke to The Chronicle Friday.

“Sexual assault and sexual misconduct are very serious issues, and Mr. Foppoli takes these allegations very seriously,” Kristovich said.