A Sonoma County jury’s verdict against Dominic Foppoli in his civil sexual assault trial concluded four years of court proceedings in one case but did not spell the end of other legal matters involving the former Windsor mayor.
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Eyes will now turn toward the California Attorney General’s Office, which could decide to reopen a criminal investigation into Foppoli in light of the jury’s Sept. 11 decision to hold him liable for a series of sexual assaults involving seven women.
An initial investigation concluded in March 2024 there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges related to sexual assault claims against Foppoli going back to 2001, but the matter remained open pending discovery of new evidence.
In a statement to The Press Democrat, Foppoli asserted his innocence, noting he has been “fully investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies who all determined the same thing, there was nothing there to press any charges.”
The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a Press Democrat inquiry on the matter. Historically, verdicts in civil cases have given cause for criminal investigators to reevaluate findings.
Foppoli’s legal team has pledged to seek to overturn the jury’s verdict. In the meantime, Foppoli is on tap to make additional appearances in civil court.
He faces trial in early 2027 over allegations by former reality star Farrah Abraham, who’s among 13 women who accused Foppoli in 2021 of a series of sexual assaults going back two decades. Abraham’s case is proceeding separately from the recent trial involving seven other women.
Following the verdict in favor of the seven women, their attorney, Traci Carrillo, said the outcome in the case does not guarantee a similar win for Abraham.
But her experience during the recent trial left her encouraged by prospective jurors’ understanding of sexual assault and the ways victims may respond afterward, Carrillo said. Jurors appear more familiar with what attorneys describe as “counterintuitive behavior by sexual assault victims,” she added, which can include delayed reporting or remaining in contact with an alleged abuser.
“I found that this jury, even the entire pool, was more educated on mental health and sex assault and why victims don’t disclose,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo, a former prosecutor, said that differed from earlier in her career, before the #MeToo movement, when attorneys often had to address more misconceptions about sexual assault during jury selection.
“I was pleasantly surprised that we didn’t really have to overcome a lot of bias,” she said. “People were generally more educated and open.”
Foppoli, meanwhile, appeared to brush off concerns about facing a second sexual assault civil trial.
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“I mean, honestly, that has even less factual, I think, merit than this one,” Foppoli said of the Abraham case after the jury ruled against him in the recent trial. “So I’ve never really been concerned about that … but that’s for another day.”
The cases revolve around sexual assault allegations that first became public in April 2021 when the San Francisco Chronicle published claims by four of the plaintiffs in the recent trial. Other women came forward with similar allegations, and eventually seven women, including one of Foppoli’s then-colleagues on the Windsor Town Council, sued in April 2022. The jury awarded the seven women a combined $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages after finding Foppoli liable for the alleged assaults.
Abraham filed her suit in December 2022, accusing Foppoli of sexually assaulting her March 28, 2021, while she attended a wine tasting at his friend’s home in Palm Beach, Florida.
According to her complaint, Foppoli offered to show Abraham his guest house and, while there, she “began to lose her mental bearings and has no personal further recollection of that evening.”
She awoke the next morning naked and in bed with Foppoli, she said. Abraham asked what happened the previous night and was told by Foppoli, “We’re both adults,” her complaint states.
Abraham went into a bathroom and discovered broken jewelry, cuts and bruises. She said she gathered her belongings, reunited with friends and urged them to leave. Afterward, Abraham claimed, Foppoli told her not to disclose what occurred.
She filed a police report on April 2, 2021, and the Chronicle published its story six days later. Abraham later joined plaintiffs in the other case when they held a press conference in April 2024 to decry the California Attorney General’s Office decision not to pursue criminal charges due to insufficient evidence.
The allegations rocked the town of Windsor and other parts of Sonoma County, given Foppoli’s involvement in area politics and the North Bay wine industry as an owner of Christopher Creek Winery in Healdsburg.
Foppoli is also entangled in a legal dispute involving the winery and his brother, Joseph Foppoli, who joined demands calling for his resignation as mayor while also pushing him to step down as Christopher Creek CEO and co-owner.
Joseph Foppoli was a minority owner in the business but contends he was terminated as chief operating officer on May 10, 2024, after pushing back and requesting access to financial documents. Two months later, he filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Two Kings Wine Co., which does business as Christopher Creek.
According to his complaint, his brother had been using winery funds as “his own personal banking” account. The company, however, countered the termination did not involve retaliation and was based on Joseph Foppoli’s job performance and conduct.
The matter is scheduled to go before a jury in November. Dominic Foppoli is not a defendant in the case but is expected to testify as a witness.
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Staff writers Isabel Beer and Phil Barber contributed to this report.
You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at [email protected].
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