DA dismisses sexual assault charges against SF Sheriff oversight board member
SAN FRANCISCO – Charges have been dismissed against a member of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department Oversight Board who was accused of sexual assault.
According to the San Francisco Public Defender, the District Attorney's Office on Tuesday dismissed all charges against William Palmer II, just before a jury could be seated in a trial against him. The case was dismissed amid concerns about the alleged victim's credibility.
"This case illustrates how important it is to push for a jury trial because it often takes that final push to make the state properly evaluate the evidence and realize that it cannot meet its burden," Public Defender Majo Raju said in a statement Wednesday.
Palmer had been jailed since November in connection with an alleged incident involving the victim at his home on Aug. 30, 2023. He pleaded not guilty to charges of sodomy by force, assault with intent to commit a felony, sexual battery by restraint, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and false imprisonment.
The public defender's office said Palmer had always maintained his innocence in the case and argued there was "never any corroborating evidence" that supported the alleged victim's claims.
"He has denied these allegations from the very beginning," said deputy public defender Sylvia Cediel. "He lost five months of his life and livelihood being jailed on these false allegations, and I am grateful that he gets to go home."
During his time in jail, the public defender said Palmer relied on friends and community donations to help pay his rent.
According to the public defender's office, Palmer served 31 years in prison after being convicted in a botched kidnapping and robbery that took place when he was 17 years old. He was released in 2019 after a court ruled that his sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole amounted to excessive punishment.