Jackson County Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse, Assault, Drug Charges from 2019

Jackson County Sheriff's Office

JCSO Case 19-10582

MEDFORD, Ore. – The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office announced this morning, John Jake Rabe Cabeza II, 30, of rural Grants Pass, pled guilty to second-degree sexual abuse, second-degree attempted assault, unlawful manufacture of methamphetamines, unlawful manufacture of marijuana extract, and three counts of tampering with a witness. He was sentenced to 96 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections, three years of post-prison supervision, and will register as a sex offender upon his release.

These charges arose from an incident that occurred May 29, 2019 on the 200 block of Savage Creek Rd. Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) deputies responded to a local hospital for a report of a sex assault that occurred the night before. The victim reported she was sleeping at Cabeza’s house and woke up to him assaulting her and engaging in forcible sexual intercourse without her consent. 

On May 30, 2019 detectives located Mr. Cabeza during a traffic stop on Savage Creek Road.  A portion of the roadway was closed for a short time while deputies took Cabeza into custody.

Following Mr. Cabeza’s arrest, detectives served a search warrant at his residence. Investigators located a clandestine laboratory and left the premises until it could be cleared by the Hazardous Materials Response Team from Medford Fire-Rescue, and personnel from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This lab showed evidence of methamphetamine production and manufacture, and the precursor chemicals on the premises. Along with the meth lab, Investigators located an illegal marijuana growing operation at the residence and evidence of a Butane Honey Oil marijuana extraction facility. 

After Mr. Cabeza was lodged in the Jackson County Jail, he attempted to tamper with witness statements, and contacted the victim to talk her out of testifying. These attempts at witness tampering were unsuccessful and he pled guilty to the charges in Jackson County Circuit Court today.

The victim provided a short statement about the incident:

“The last three years have been hell and the future years will take a lot of work to heal. I don’t blame women for not coming forward, seeing it through to the end is the hardest thing I have done in all my life. I just hope that my courage in seeing it through will empower any other women who may feel too scared or ashamed to speak up for themselves. Thank you to JCSO Detectives Adam Lewis and Jill Wenzel and the District Attorney Virginia Greer. They stayed with me the whole way and saw that justice was served.”

The case against Mr. Cabeza was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Virginia Greer. The case was investigated by JCSO.