Jury proceedings are set to begin during the first full week of July in the civil trial of Dominic Foppoli, the former Town of Windsor mayor who is facing allegations by seven women who say he preyed upon and sexually assaulted them while they were drugged or restrained.
Read more Bay Area’s mild heat wave set to fade; Fourth of July likely to be warm
Testimony is expected to last about six weeks in Sonoma County Superior Court, where a civil complaint was filed in April 2022, about one year after allegations against Foppoli came to light. He’s always denied allegations and never faced criminal charges, making next month’s proceedings a milestone in the plaintiffs’ five-year pursuit for accountability.
“There’s so many things that have happened between 2021 when this was first reported on to today,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Traci Carrillo, told The Press Democrat on Friday. “Even though it’s going to be traumatic, it’s an empowering moment where we’re hopefully getting them the justice they deserve and should have had a long time ago.”
She and Foppoli’s defense attorney, Andrew Watters, both confirmed to The Press Democrat that the former mayor is expected to testify at trial.
On Friday, Watters denied the allegations against his client and said the legal case is “a malicious crusade” coordinated by the plaintiffs.
Records filed this month show the 44-year-old man’s family members plus a number of past and present lawmakers may be called in as witnesses by the plaintiffs and defendant once the trial begins. The seven plaintiffs, all identified as Jane Does, also appear in their own witness list.
Foppoli, who splits his time between Italy and Sonoma County and previously had not ruled out rejoining local politics, has long pushed back on allegations by the women, whose claims are detailed in recently filed records that illustrate disturbing activity dating back about 25 years when Foppoli and two of the women were barely adults.
Scenarios between 2001 and 2019 show a number of parallels, according to a trial brief Carrillo filed June 17: Victims met Foppoli through professional means, were assaulted after blacking out or falling into foggy states, and told him to stop but faced resistance. In one instance, a victim locked herself in a bathroom to escape. In another, a victim woke up naked, in pain and bleeding.
At least two victims say they were assaulted on more than one occasion, with one claiming Foppoli “raped her upwards of over a hundred times,” according to the trial brief.
“Each of the Jane Does in this case has suffered unspeakable acts of violence and irreparable harm at the hands of a man they either knew, trusted or assumed to be a safe person to be around; a man in a position of leadership in business, the community and in local politics,” she wrote.
The plaintiffs allege Foppoli either sought excuses for his behavior — telling one victim it was OK because they were dating — or disclosed the activity to peers who knew what was happening but did little to investigate when complaints surfaced.
The latter allegation focused on the Foppoli family-owned Christopher Creek Winery and the Active 20-30 Club, an international organization that helps children and encourage leadership skills in younger adults ages 20 to 39. Foppoli was a member of the local chapter and members joked about his behavior, according to the plaintiffs.
The original complaint alleges the winery and the club profited from Foppoli “luring Plaintiffs to events held at or on behalf of” the two institutions, and then failed to investigate reports of sexual assault.
Read more Supreme Court says Fed’s Cook can keep her job for now, but it upholds other Trump firings
Christopher Creek and the national Active 20-30 Club organization recently reached settlements with all seven plaintiffs. Settlement notices, filed earlier this month in Sonoma County Superior Court, did not specify terms and conditions. Meanwhile, the local Active 20-30 Club chapter remains a defendant.
Carrillo’s trial brief notes Foppoli has taken efforts to shoot down allegations, including enlisting “agents to defend him by lashing out and defaming several of the Does.” He was already known to photograph or videotape other politicians in “compromising situations to later have leverage to use against them,” according to the brief.
“At least three different witnesses, unrelated to any of the Jane Does, would testify to this,” Carrillo wrote.
Over the course of 2021, more than a dozen women, including a fellow Windsor Town Council member, publicly accused Foppoli of sexual assault or harassment in incidents spread across two decades of his life. Criminal investigations were opened in four states, but none led to charges. Meanwhile, Foppoli, who was pressured to resign as mayor, left Sonoma County for Italy.
Last year, Foppoli’s attorney argued that publicity surrounding the case made it difficult for his client to get a fair trial. He filed a motion for a venue change, and it was rejected in September.
“The community has made up its mind about him, which is a mistake,” Watters said Friday.
Following next month’s proceedings Foppoli may return to Sonoma County court in February for a lawsuit filed by reality TV personality Farrah Abraham. Foppoli is accused of drugging and raping her at his friend’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, in late March 2021. Her lawyers previously told The Press Democrat that she had “blacked out” after sipping an old-fashioned cocktail given to her by Foppoli.
According to Abraham’s complaint, she woke up the next morning in a bed next to Foppoli with no memory of the night before. When she visited the bedroom she noticed broken jewelry and “some cuts and bruises,” according to the complaint. “She knew she had been raped” by Foppoli, the complaint states.
In a third lawsuit, Foppoli was accused by a woman known as Jane Doe 7017, a woman from Gallatin, Montana, whose name hasn’t been publicly revealed.
In May 2022, the woman accused Foppoli of raping her multiple times in 2020 when she was 18. Between May and September of that year, according to the complaint, Foppoli sexually assaulted her after attending several events connected to Christopher Creek Winery. The winery is also named in the suit, for allegedly ignoring Foppoli’s misconduct and “fostering a pervasive and hostile environment that utterly disregarded the rights and safety of women.”
A settlement in that case was reached in December, but terms were not specified in records.
Read more Supreme Court won’t revive Alan Dershowitz’s $300 million suit against CNN
You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at [email protected].
About the Author
