Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Former deputy to serve 8 years in attempted rape
A former sheriff’s deputy convicted of attempted rape deserves an 8-year prison sentence because it happened in uniform, a judge ordered Wednesday.
“You used your authority during the commission of this crime,” Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo told Jason Neber15 gall, while also designating him as a sexual offender.
The punishment follows a jury’s July 13 guilty verdict on charges of attempted sexual battery while in possession of a weapon and misdemeanor battery, for an attack on a 26-year-old woman two years ago.
Nebergall’s attorney, Michael Salnick, urged the judge to use her discretion to impose a sentence below the minimum term of five years and four months set under state sentencing guidelines.
“On the one hand, one could say, ‘You know what? He put himself in that position and therefore I’m not going to be merciful,’ ” Salnick said. “On the other hand, one can say it happened, he has to be punished, but be punished and not ruined.”
Prosecutors called for the maximum possible sentence of years for the felony, arguing that while Nebergall hurt the victim he made cops everywhere look terrible.
“He paints them in a bad light,” Assistant State Attorney Marci Rex said. “There are so many amazing law enforcement officers out there who work hard every single day, and we have somebody like Jason Nebergall, who while he’s on
duty takes that uniform and does what he did.”
Nebergall was one of three deputies who responded after 5 a.m. July 21, 2016, to the woman’s residence at the Casa Del Monte Mobile Home Park near Greenacres. She had called for help over a dispute with her landlord.
The victim, now 28, said Nebergall was alone when he returned to her home at 6 a.m. and made vulgar remarks, forcibly kissed her lips and a breast, asked for oral sex and tried a sexual act. She said she didn't try to resist because he kept touching a gun in his waistband during the attack.
While Nebergall first denied ever touching her — and later claimed he was falsely accused — prosecutors pointed to the discovery of Nebergall’s DNA on her left breast as confirmation of her allegation.
The woman testified at Nebergall’s trial, and on Wednesday she recommended the maximum amount of prison time.
“At this point, he is a bad guy, and he needs to be put away,” she said, while expressing sympathy for his family. “This is what he deserves.”
The South Florida Sun Sentinel is not identifying the woman due to the nature of the charges.
Without any other witnesses, the case was largely a he-said, she-said dispute.
Nebergall told the jury he was stunned when, after coming back to check on the woman, she exposed her breasts and asked if he wanted to pat her down.
“She leaned into my personal space,” he said. “I pushed her back.”
But the jurors heard Nebergall swear in a recorded statement to a detective that he never touched his accuser.
Prosecutors played the recording to cast him as a liar, in light of the DNA evidence. Nebergall explained to the jury his comment to the investigator meant he never touched the woman in a sexual way.
He has been on unpaid leave since his arrest four months after the encounter.
Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said the paperwork for Nebergall’s termination is close to being finalized.
Before he was sentenced, Nebergall stood before the judge wearing handcuffs and leg chains and asked her to consider for his former service in the U.S. military.
Caracuzzo later said she took note of that background — it includes two tours of duty for the Army in Iraq. After Nebergall’s discharge in 2007, he joined the Air Force Reserve. Salnick, the defense lawyer, asked the judge to go below the minimum sentence because of the military service, and dangers facing cops sent to prison.
Nebergall said he’s been in 24-hour protective custody at the Palm Beach County Jail since the verdict, and he expects “worse” conditions in prison because of his law enforcement background.
Chad Nebergall testified that his older brother is a good father to his three sons, and is “not the man who’s been portrayed in this courtroom.”
“He’s not a monster. He’s not a rapist. He’s not a bad man,” he said.
Carol Nebergall begged the court to show mercy for her husband. She said he is “amazing, caring and irreplaceable.”
Salnick says he will soon ask the judge to grant an appellate bond so his client can be placed on house arrest while his appeal is pending. He said it’s a strong appeal because the jury heard the victim make an improper remark about DNA on her body.
The judge denied repeated defense motions for a mistrial and a new trial over the same objection.
Prosecutors called for the maximum possible sentence of 15 years for the felony, arguing that while Nebergall hurt the victim he made cops everywhere look terrible.