Man pleads guilty to sexually abusing child under age 10
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to seven felony child sexual abuse offenses involving a Norfolk child under the age of 10 between 2019 and 2020.
On Tuesday, Jamal D'Angelo Jackson entered a plea agreement that included cases against him in Maryland and Washington D.C. for similar crimes between 2015-2017 and in 2020.
Court documents show that Jackson became acquainted with Norfolk victim's family in 2013 while in Maryland. He became a close family friend and lived with them on and off through July 2020.
In October 2020, the victim reported Jackson's abuse during a forensic interview with police. Soon after, Maryland authorities arrested for his charges pending there, and in January 2022 he was extradited to Virginia to face charges for his crimes in Norfolk.
Norfolk police charged Jackson with one count of aggravated sexual battery of a child, two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and one count of sodomy of a child.
In December 2022, the victim came forward with more instances of abuse, and prosecutors secured direct indictments for three additional counts of sodomy against Jackson.
"Mr. Jackson abused the innocence of a child for his own gratification, and he abused the trust of the child's family by pretending to be someone there to help, not harm," said Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi. "Mr. Jackson's guilty plea here is the product of teamwork among three jurisdictions, and the sentence that we seek in Norfolk will reflect the gravity of Mr. Jackson's crimes as a whole."
In exchange for his guilty pleas in Norfolk, which included the facts from his other pending charges, state prosecutors in Maryland and federal prosecutors in Washington D.C. have agreed to dismiss those pending charges.
Resources are available at the Norfolk Family Justice Center for anyone who has fallen victim to crime, including but not limited to child abuse. For more information, please visit norfolkfjc.org , call 757-330-0376 or stop by the NFJC inside the Park Place Multi-Services Center at 606 W. 29th St., between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays.
