After a May 2024 battery charge, police records reveal that at least three other women have reported similar assaults by Packers running back Josh Jacobs.
Key points
- Police records show at least three women have reported prior assaults by Jacobs, suggesting a pattern of alleged abusive behavior.
- The May 2024 incident resulted in a misdemeanor plea, but the NFL’s separate investigation is ongoing.
- Law enforcement notes from earlier complaints sometimes recorded no visible injuries, highlighting challenges in corroborating such allegations.
The Hobart/Lawrence Police Department released records on Friday in response to a public‑records request, confirming that several women contacted officers after the May 26 arrest of Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs to recount comparable incidents of alleged abuse.
One woman said she spent roughly 11 hours at Jacobs’ home in early 2022 after a six‑month communication period. She alleged that when she told Jacobs she was not there for sex, he became angry, slapped her, threatened to kill her, threw her phone into a swimming pool, grabbed her by the hair, and spat on her. She had not reported the episode earlier because she remained friends with Jacobs and feared she would not be believed.
Other women contact police with similar claims
Another complainant described a sexual encounter in April 2021 that ended with Jacobs’ condom breaking. After she asked him to get tested for STDs, she says he removed her from the residence, pushed her against a wall, and threw her belongings, leaving bruises on her arms and swelling near her ribs. Police notes from that case recorded no visible injuries consistent with a physical altercation.
A third woman, who met Jacobs through social media and was flown to a residence in May 2022, recounted that he grabbed her hair, placed his hands on her head and neck, dragged her, scratched her chest, and threatened deportation because she was not a U.S. citizen at the time. She reported bruises on her arm and scratches on her chest and neck.
Details of prior incidents
The May 23 incident that led to Jacobs’ arrest involved the woman who was his girlfriend at the time. She told police that Jacobs grabbed her, threw her to the ground while she tried to exit a garage, took her phone, later lunged at her inside the home, pinned her on a bed, and covered her mouth and nose, causing her to feel she could not breathe and possibly lose consciousness briefly.
Jacobs pleaded no contest on Sept. 10 to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property. The NFL placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list in August, causing him to miss the Packers’ first six games of the season; he has since returned to the active roster. The league’s investigation remains open, and further discipline is possible.
Reader questions
What charges did Josh Jacobs plead to?
He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of battery and criminal damage to property.
What is the NFL’s commissioner’s exempt list?
It is a roster designation that removes a player from team activities while the league investigates serious off‑field matters; Jacobs was placed on it in August 2024.
How many games did Jacobs miss because of the exempt list?
He missed the Packers’ first six games of the season before being reinstated.
Source: bostonglobe.com