{"id":3319,"date":"2026-06-29T15:38:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319"},"modified":"2026-06-29T15:38:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:38:24","slug":"sexual-assault-civil-trial-against-former-bay-area-mayor-set-to-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319","title":{"rendered":"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more Bay Area\u2019s mild heat wave set to fade; Fourth of July likely to be warm<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s always denied allegations and never faced criminal charges, making next month\u2019s proceedings a milestone in the plaintiffs\u2019 five-year pursuit for accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many things that have happened between 2021 when this was first reported on to today,\u201d the plaintiffs\u2019 attorney, Traci Carrillo, told The Press Democrat on Friday. \u201cEven though it\u2019s going to be traumatic, it\u2019s an empowering moment where we\u2019re hopefully getting them the justice they deserve and should have had a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

She and Foppoli\u2019s defense attorney, Andrew Watters, both confirmed to The Press Democrat that the former mayor is expected to testify at trial.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Watters denied the allegations against his client and said the legal case is \u201ca malicious crusade\u201d coordinated by the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n

Records filed this month show the 44-year-old man\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

At least two victims say they were assaulted on more than one occasion, with one claiming Foppoli \u201craped her upwards of over a hundred times,\u201d according to the trial brief.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach 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,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs allege Foppoli either sought excuses for his behavior \u2014 telling one victim it was OK because they were dating \u2014 or disclosed the activity to peers who knew what was happening but did little to investigate when complaints surfaced.<\/p>\n

The latter allegation focused on\u00a0the 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.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The original complaint alleges the winery and the club profited from Foppoli \u201cluring Plaintiffs to events held at or on behalf of\u201d the two institutions, and then failed to investigate reports of sexual assault.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court says Fed\u2019s Cook can keep her job for now, but it upholds other Trump firings<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Carrillo\u2019s trial brief notes Foppoli has taken efforts to shoot down allegations, including enlisting \u201cagents to defend him by lashing out and defaming several of the Does.\u201d He was already known to photograph or videotape other politicians in \u201ccompromising situations to later have leverage to use against them,\u201d according to the brief.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least three different witnesses, unrelated to any of the Jane Does, would testify to this,\u201d Carrillo wrote.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Last year, Foppoli\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community has made up its mind about him, which is a mistake,\u201d Watters said Friday.<\/p>\n

Following next month\u2019s 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\u2019s home in Palm Beach, Florida, in late March 2021. Her lawyers previously told The Press Democrat that she had \u201cblacked out\u201d after sipping an old-fashioned cocktail given to her by Foppoli.<\/p>\n

According to Abraham\u2019s 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 \u201csome cuts and bruises,\u201d according to the complaint. \u201cShe knew she had been raped\u201d by Foppoli, the complaint states.<\/p>\n

In a third lawsuit, Foppoli was accused by a woman known as Jane Doe 7017, a woman from Gallatin, Montana, whose name hasn\u2019t been publicly revealed.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s misconduct and \u201cfostering a pervasive and hostile environment that utterly disregarded the rights and safety of women.\u201d<\/p>\n

A settlement in that case was reached in December, but terms were not specified in records.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court won\u2019t revive Alan Dershowitz\u2019s $300 million suit against CNN<\/a><\/p>\n

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Windsor mayor Dominic Foppoli faces allegations by seven women who say he sexually assaulted them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Windsor mayor Dominic Foppoli faces allegations by seven women who say he sexually assaulted them.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T15:38:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T15:38:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319\"},\"wordCount\":1111,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319\",\"name\":\"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T15:38:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp\",\"width\":883,\"height\":653},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3319#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin - Next City Digest","og_description":"Former Windsor mayor Dominic Foppoli faces allegations by seven women who say he sexually assaulted them.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T15:38:24+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin","datePublished":"2026-06-29T15:38:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319"},"wordCount":1111,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319","name":"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-29T15:38:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5f3bee51387d493f0de7c2d0709d157d.webp","width":883,"height":653},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3319#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sexual assault civil trial against former Bay Area mayor set to begin"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}