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Cal Poly ROTC chair now facing four criminal charges

February 20, 2023

Jacob Sweatland

By KAREN VELIE

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office filed two more criminal charges in the case of the Army Lt. Colonel arrested after his hidden camera was discovered in a dressing room in a Pismo Beach store.

Lt.Col. Jacob Sweatland faces a maximum sentence of more than three years in prison. He is seeking to get diversion with the goal of avoiding criminal prosecution and clearing his record.

Pismo Beach officers arrested Sweatland on Sept. 2 after a teenage girl found a spy camera, which appeared to be a key fob in a dressing room at PacSun. PacSun sells clothing designed for teens and young adults.

After calling the store, seeking his key fob, Sweatland went to the store and walked in. He noticed officers and fled on foot.

Three hours later, officers arrested Sweatland at his home on charges of resisting arrest and invasion of privacy by recording in a dressing room, both crimes are misdemeanors.

Sweatland then applied for misdemeanor military diversion, meaning he could divert his sentence for one year. During that time he would need to abide by all laws and complete community service requirements and charges will be dropped.

On Feb. 15, prosecutors added two additional misdemeanor charges for allegedly filming a person in “full or partial undress, for the purpose of viewing the body of, or the undergarments worn by, that other person, without the consent or knowledge of that other person.”

After serving tours in Colombia, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, Sweatland’s attorney is arguing that the 40-year-old suffers from mental health issues that led him to videotape the partially undressed woman and teen.

Shortly after his arrest, the Army temporarily removed Lt.Col. Sweatland from his post at Cal Poly, though he technically remains the department chair, said Nichole Downs, chief of public affairs for United States Army Cadet Command.

“Lt. Col. Sweatland has been reassigned with duties away from the university campus and has been issued a no-contact order with cadets pending the outcome of local law enforcement investigation,” Downs said. “United States Army Cadet Command takes all allegations of misconduct seriously as it is counter to the Army values and what we stand for.”

Sweatland’s military diversion hearing is scheduled for March 13.


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These are misdemeanors? Something wrong with that.


And, since they are misdemeanors I don’t see why his pension will be in jeopardy unless he serves more than 61 days in jail, which I would doubt, even though he could get 3 years. I think his service would figure in his sentence. Plus, no sex offender label. He basically gets off with a slap on the wrist. Hopefully he is required to get some serious counseling.


8

His pension is on the line is why he wants the military diversion whatever the civilian charges may be. Ukraine needs men for the frontlines


12

Yeah, I don’t buy the whole PTSD made me do it. He’s a perv.


31

“After serving tours in Colombia, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, Sweatland’s attorney is arguing that the 40-year-old suffers from mental health issues that led him to videotape the partially undressed woman and teen.”


Please excuse JACOB, everybody; his career path and life choices have exhausted his mental state, consequently misguiding him to STRATEGICALLY place hidden cameras in unsuspecting public facilities ILLEGALLY.


What a freakin jag off.


45

Literally…


18

That chair has no legs to stand on


25