When teenager Hope Votaw sought to run away from home after having problems with her mother, she found support from a friend online. However, trusting this person would soon prove to be a terrible choice for Hope. Survey Discovery’Web of Lies: Stolen Youth’ chronicles how the teenager was coerced into sex trafficking and then abandoned by William Bernard Jacobs and an accomplice. So if you’re curious about where he might be today, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Guillaume Bernard Jacobs?
In the spring of 2012, Hope was a 14-year-old about to graduate from high school in Allen, Texas. At the time, she lived with her mother and stepfather but had problems at home. According to the show, Hope struggled to make friends at school, so she turned to people online for comfort. At this time, the teenager met a single mother, Shayla Williams. Hope told her that she was 19 and the two seemed to be becoming good friends. When Hope finally decided to leave home, Shayla offered her accommodation.
Soon, Shayla and a man named William Bernard Jacobs picked up Hope in July 2012, taking her to an extended-stay hotel in Lewisville, Texas. Meanwhile, Hope’s mother, Denise, got the number her daughter called to reach Shayla and tried to reach her. Denise then told Shayla that her daughter was only 14 and not 19 as she previously mentioned. However, Hope did not return home. About three days later, Denise turned herself in to the police, but it was not until a few weeks later, on July 30, 2012, that the authorities found her.
Eventually they learned the truth about what had happened. Shayla had met William in May 2012 and got involved in sex work, with all the money she earned for William. After the two took Hope to the hotel, they had sex with her, smoked marijuana, and took pictures of her for publicity. Over the next few days, William took Hope to several states to meet with more than 30 clients, and he charged $100 and $150 depending on the length of the sessions.
Shayla, who later cooperated with authorities, said William took all the money customers paid for her and Hope. Police also learned that William regularly supplied the girls with marijuana and was particularly attentive to what they should do, sometimes becoming abusive. After all returning to the hotel in Lewisville, William and Shayla abandoned Hope there and fled on July 30, 2012. The two were arrested at another hotel in Arlington, Texas in August 2012 after following the Shayla’s cell phone.
Where is William Bernard Jacobs now?
The investigation revealed that some of the patrons appeared to be students, including a faculty member from the University of North Texas. William, then about 30 years old, finally agreed to a settlement with the prosecution. He pleaded guilty to child molestation and trafficking a person under 18 for prostitution. For this, William received a 20-year sentence. As for Shayla, her cooperation earned her a five-year sentence reduction. She was arrested again in 2018 for violating her sex offender registration requirements. Prison records indicate William remains incarcerated at the WJ Estelle Unit in Huntsville, Texas. He will be eligible for parole in August 2022.
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