Detention motion: Sarcoxie sex offender was living in home with one minor child, another on the way

A Sarcoxie sex offender who was indicted by a federal grand jury for failing to report to Jasper and Lawrence county authorities has been living in a home with a minor child and another one on the way, according to a detention motion filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Jacob Zuber, 32, who lived in Carthage before moving to Sarcoxie, has a long list of offenses including being convicted of two felony sex offenses against children while he was living in Oregon, according to the motion.

According to the indictment, Zuber failed to report between January 1, 2017 and December 23, 2020.

Zuber's detention hearing is scheduled for 12 p.m. Friday in Springfield.

His previous offenses and the government's reasoning for wanting him held without bond while awaiting trial were spelled out in the detention motion.

On or about May 21, 2008, Jacob ZUBER pled guilty to two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in the Lincoln County Circuit Court, 17th Judicial District of Oregon. 

The charges of the indictment that the defendant pled guilty to read as follows: 

COUNT 3: SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE FIRST DEGREE (ORS 163.427 F/B) The said defendant, on or about April 2005, in the County of Lincoln and State of Oregon, did unlawfully and knowingly subject [Jane Doe], a person under the age of 14 years, to sexual contact by touching her genitalia, a sexual or intimate part of [Jane Doe]. 

COUNT 4: SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE FIRST DEGREE (ORS 163.427 F/B) The said defendant, on or about April 2005, in the County of Lincoln and State of Oregon, did unlawfully and knowingly subject [Jane Doe], a person under the age of 14 years, to sexual contact by touching her breasts, a sexual or intimate part of [Jane Doe]. He was sentenced to 75 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections and 10 years post-prison supervision. 

ZUBER was released from the Oregon Department of Corrections on October 11, 2013. On June 6, 2008, ZUBER completed his initial Oregon Sex Offender Registration Form which clearly outlined the penalties for failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offender registry. 

On December 11, 2015, ZUBER completed and signed his last recorded Oregon Sex Offender Registration Form. He specifically initialed the section that stated, “no more than 3 days after moving to another state . . . I must report to law enforcement in that county, in person, and complete registration.” 

On January 15, 2020, Deputy United States Marshal (DUSM) Cole Faulconer was assigned to investigate a possible Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act violation by ZUBER. DUSM Faulconer obtained ZUBER’s 2017 and 2018 Jasper County Property Tax Assessment Lists. 

On his 2017 personal property declaration, ZUBER declared an address of 10055 Maple Road, Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. On the 2018 personal property declaration, ZUBER declared that he had changed his address to 13632 Lawrence 1022, Sarcoxie, Lawrence County, Missouri. 

On that form, ZUBER listed the date he moved from Carthage, Missouri, to Sarcoxie, Missouri, as August 2017. DUSM Faulconer also received information from the Missouri Department of Employment, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the United States Postal Inspectors, the Missouri Department of Revenue, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Lawrence County Assessor’s Office, that all demonstrated that ZUBER was living and working in Missouri, specifically, in Jasper County and Lawrence County. 

DUSM Faulconer confirmed with the Missouri Information Analysis Center, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office that ZUBER had not registered as a sex offender and remained unregistered as of December 28, 2020. 

In relation to the history and character of the defendant, the defendant has an extensive criminal history with convictions for improper use of 911, custodial interference, attempt to elude a police officer with a vehicle, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, sexual abuse in the first degree and sexual abuse in the first degree. The victim in the sexual abuse in the first degree was a minor relative of the defendant. 

Given the nature of his criminal history, it is extremely concerning that the defendant is living with a minor and that his wife (who the defendant intends to live with if released on bond) is pregnant. 

The defendant has an active warrant for absconding from parole in relation to the sexual abuse in the first degree case. Given his absconder status and his history of flight from law enforcement, he is a risk of flight. 

Given the nature and circumstances of the offenses charged, the weight of the evidence against the defendant, the defendant’s criminal history, his status as an absconder, his inadequate home plan which includes contact with minors, and the danger to the community by the defendant’s release, the United States submits that there is clear and convincing evidence that there are no conditions that would reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance in court or the safety of the victim or community