Speaker 1: In early twenty twenty, a tip submitted through a crime
Speaker 1: reporting system triggered an investigation that would shake a southern
Speaker 1: California law enforcement agency. The report pointed to a San
Speaker 1: Diego sheriff deputy and allegations that he had been communicating
Speaker 1: with and soliciting sex with minors online. As detectives began
Speaker 1: digging into the case, Dan covered disturbing evidence involving social media,
Speaker 1: hidden identities, and multiple victims. The investigation would ultimately lead
Speaker 1: to that deputy's arrest in a case that raised serious
Speaker 1: questions about trust and accountability. This is the story of
Speaker 1: the child predator named Jalen Devon Flear.
Speaker 2: My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked
Speaker 2: and Grim, a true crime podcast. Warning.
Speaker 1: The following podcast material in more mature audience listener discretion.
Speaker 1: I'm excited for our walk tomorrow, are you? I am.
Speaker 2: It's been a while since we visited the tree, the
Speaker 2: Wicked and Grim Tree.
Speaker 1: Yes, so, you guys, you know our logo. You're probably
Speaker 1: listening to this podcast and you're familiar with our logo,
Speaker 1: the tree and everything. Yeah, it's a real tree about
Speaker 1: a few kilometers from where we live. And we're gonna go.
Speaker 1: We're gonna go see it tomorrow where we used to live. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I mean it's in the same city. Yeah, just on
Speaker 1: the other end of the city now yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it used to be very close, but now it's
Speaker 2: a little bit further away. But yeah, it's a legit tree.
Speaker 1: It is. We're gonna go take the dogs, go for
Speaker 1: a stroll, and yeah, it's gonna bean. He probably take
Speaker 1: a selfie and post it on social media, because why not.
Speaker 2: But well, I don't think Honey's ever been there, just Ripley, Really,
Speaker 2: I'm pretty Oh.
Speaker 1: I'm sure she's been there, hasn't She don't think she has.
Speaker 1: Oh okay, well it's gonna be her first time at
Speaker 1: the wickeding Grim Tree.
Speaker 2: We'll introduce her to the tree.
Speaker 1: She'll be like, cool, Yeah, it's a tree. She might
Speaker 1: even pee on it, who knows. But I'm stoked. It's
Speaker 1: kind of gonna be a nice, little, uh, I don't know, visit.
Speaker 1: I feel like that tree has a personality for us,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Yeah, nice little family owning.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Speaking of family, this is not exactly the most
Speaker 1: family friendly episode we're covering today, because this is involving
Speaker 1: miners and a sexual predator targeting said miners. So heads
Speaker 1: up on that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no kidding, and shout out it's gonna be a
Speaker 2: bit rough.
Speaker 1: It's rough, for sure, but shout out to her. Paid.
Speaker 1: We have a little feed, a little chat where they
Speaker 1: recommend cases all the time, and this one comes from
Speaker 1: in there.
Speaker 2: So it's awesome to have that they have our back.
Speaker 1: They do. Once in a while, I'm like, oh, I
Speaker 1: just can't find anything, and then I go scrolling through
Speaker 1: their recommendations and it's I usually find something pretty quick
Speaker 1: because they got some good cases.
Speaker 2: They sure do.
Speaker 1: So are you ready for this one?
Speaker 2: Though, Yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 1: Just dive right into it, I think. So okay, well,
Speaker 1: let's get on with this case. And like I said,
Speaker 1: trigger warning, you've been warned. You ready, Okay. So, from
Speaker 1: a young age, many of us are taught the same lesson.
Speaker 1: When something's wrong, find a police officer. They are the
Speaker 1: ones meant to help and the ones who are meant
Speaker 1: to protect. Authorities carry a very powerful weight because of
Speaker 1: that trust. They have a badge, a uniform, and a
Speaker 1: position of responsibility that signals safety and it tells the
Speaker 1: public that the person wearing it has been entrusted with
Speaker 1: protecting the community, but trust can be exploited, and there
Speaker 1: are also some of us who taught a different lesson
Speaker 1: that even authorities and officers can be corrupt. Because in
Speaker 1: the modern world, predators can be anywhere, and they don't
Speaker 1: always hide in dark alleys or abandoned places. Many now
Speaker 1: operate from behind the scenes, may be using social media
Speaker 1: and messaging apps to try and reach out into people's homes,
Speaker 1: their phones, and even their lives. Platforms designed for connection
Speaker 1: can also become a tool for manipulation, especially when those
Speaker 1: using them know exactly how to gain someone's trust. And
Speaker 1: sometimes the people hiding behind those screens, well, sometimes they're
Speaker 1: not strangers at all. Sometimes they are the people who
Speaker 1: hold positions of authority, people the public have been taught
Speaker 1: to trust without question. When that happens, the betrayal runs
Speaker 1: deeper than a single crime. It shatters the sense of
Speaker 1: safety that authority is supposed to represent, and in this case,
Speaker 1: that trust was broken in one of the most disturbing
Speaker 1: and unimaginable ways. Jalen Devon Fleer was born in nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety three and he grew up in Sante California, which
Speaker 1: is a suburban community in San Diego County. From everything
Speaker 1: I could find online, his early life appeared fairly typical.
Speaker 1: By the time he reached high school, he had developed
Speaker 1: a reputation as a strong athlete with a future that
Speaker 1: seemed to be heading in a positive direction. He attended
Speaker 1: Santana High School, graduating in twenty eleven, and during his
Speaker 1: time there he stood out on the baseball field. Standing
Speaker 1: at six foot four inches tall, he had a physical
Speaker 1: build of a natural athlete and was known amongst classmates
Speaker 1: as someone heavily involved in sports. Now he played both
Speaker 1: baseball and football, but baseball in particular will it appeared
Speaker 1: to be where he showed the most promise as a pitcher.
Speaker 1: Jalen competed in the San Diego Storm, a local baseball organization,
Speaker 1: and later continued playing that sport at Grossman College. For
Speaker 1: a time, it looked like baseball might remain a major
Speaker 1: part of his life. But no matter how you look
Speaker 1: at his youth or analyze his upbringing, nothing that we
Speaker 1: know of his early years suggested that Jalen would be
Speaker 1: well one day a predator at the center of a
Speaker 1: criminal investigation that would draw national attention to the people
Speaker 1: around him he was just a typical young man from
Speaker 1: a southern California suburb, someone that followed a path built
Speaker 1: around sports, school, and community. But at some point after
Speaker 1: his time playing baseball, Jalen stopped continuing down the athletic
Speaker 1: route and he chose a career that placed him in
Speaker 1: a position of authority as he decided to pursue law enforcement.
Speaker 1: It was in June of twenty fifteen when he joined
Speaker 1: the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. He was beginning what
Speaker 1: appeared to be a stable path in law enforcement, and
Speaker 1: Jalen was assigned to the Department of Detention Services Bureau,
Speaker 1: where he worked primarily inside the county's jail system. His
Speaker 1: duties placed him in the San Diego Central Jail, one
Speaker 1: of the main detention facilities in the region, and as
Speaker 1: a correctional deputy, his responsibility involved supervising inmates, maintaining order
Speaker 1: inside the facility, and working within the jail and court
Speaker 1: services units that handled detainees moving through the county's criminal
Speaker 1: justice system. For the next several years, Jalen continued working
Speaker 1: within that role. Now. Records show he remained with the
Speaker 1: Sheriff's Department for just over five years building a career
Speaker 1: within that system. By twenty nineteen, compensation records indicated that
Speaker 1: he earned roughly one hundred and sixteen thousand in total
Speaker 1: pay and benefits, with a base salary of about sixty
Speaker 1: five thousand. By all accounts, Jalen held a position that
Speaker 1: carried public trust and authority, and there were no widely
Speaker 1: reported issues tied to his work. To those around him,
Speaker 1: former classmates, coworkers, and members of the community, Jayleen now
Speaker 1: in his new career, was just another part of law enforcement,
Speaker 1: moving on doing better in his life, and nothing about
Speaker 1: his public image at the time suggested that his true
Speaker 1: self would surface. In fact, it was in the spring
Speaker 1: of twenty twenty that everything began to unravel. According to
Speaker 1: court records and investigators, the core of the case against
Speaker 1: Jayleen Fleer centered around a short but extremely troubling period
Speaker 1: of time. The crimes occurred between March twenty seventh and
Speaker 1: April eighth of twenty twenty, a window of just under
Speaker 1: two weeks long. Now. During that time, prosecutors say Jayalen
Speaker 1: was communicating with multiple miners through social media and messaging platforms,
Speaker 1: primarily using Snapchat. Because you know, Snapchat has that function
Speaker 1: of things get deleted. Right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of Snapchat. I never
Speaker 2: really have been. Its one app that I have used
Speaker 2: very briefly.
Speaker 1: I would say I'm the same. I've had a few
Speaker 1: friends I've talked with on there, but it's not something
Speaker 1: I've used much. I've probably sent like under one hundred
Speaker 1: messages on there in total. And like Snapchat, it has
Speaker 1: a bad rap because because of being able to have
Speaker 1: those messages deleted, it's a positive thing. You're notified if
Speaker 1: someone takes a screenshot of the conversation. Photos disappear after
Speaker 1: you look at them immediately, however, so do the records
Speaker 1: of what's sent. Don't get me wrong on this. I
Speaker 1: didn't research the exact Snapchat stuff, so this is kind
Speaker 1: of off the top of my head. I could be wrong,
Speaker 1: but I believe Snapchat actually permanently deletes things. I think
Speaker 1: within twenty four days of the image being sent, so
Speaker 1: even authorities can't go back and look upon these things.
Speaker 2: Oh jez, that doesn't seem good.
Speaker 1: Again, don't quote me on that. I think it's somewhere
Speaker 1: around that vicinity, but I'm not certain, because.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're notified if a photo is someone taken a
Speaker 2: screenshot of a photo.
Speaker 1: As far as I know, anything in the snap I believe,
Speaker 1: whether it's photos or the conversation or anything.
Speaker 2: I think it's just photos. Oh maybe, but I remember
Speaker 2: it always just stressing me out too, because everyone's all,
Speaker 2: you know, you don't break our streak or whatever where
Speaker 2: you have to send a photo every day or photo
Speaker 2: yeah this twenty four hours or I don't even know,
Speaker 2: and that always stressed me out. Well, I think that's
Speaker 2: another reason I didn't like the app.
Speaker 1: That was how I mostly used it. I messaged a
Speaker 1: couple friends here and there, and then yeah, I turned
Speaker 1: into the streak and then we're like a few weeks
Speaker 1: streak and it's like we're not even messaging each other.
Speaker 1: We just hit like a period or an exclamation mark,
Speaker 1: or just send a random photo just for the streak numbers. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: For me, snapchat is not something I'm really going to
Speaker 1: have in my life, but many people use it, and
Speaker 1: it does get a bad rap and a good rap
Speaker 1: for the same reasons. Now, through these conversations that Jalen
Speaker 1: was having on there, investigators later determined that he was
Speaker 1: attempting to arrange in person meetings and encourage the girls
Speaker 1: to meet with him privately. The criminal complaint would eventually
Speaker 1: identify four victims, all of which who were between the
Speaker 1: ages of twelve and fourteen years old.
Speaker 2: Oh that is young.
Speaker 1: In court documents, their identities were protected, and rightfully so,
Speaker 1: they were referred to simply as Jane Doe one, Jane
Speaker 1: Do two, Jane Do three, and Jane Doe four. Investigators
Speaker 1: also determined that the girls did not know each other,
Speaker 1: suggesting Jalen had contacted them separately rather than through a
Speaker 1: single shared social circle.
Speaker 2: How the hell, well, you're probably going to get into this,
Speaker 2: but how the hell would he even find these young girls.
Speaker 2: I don't even know how a person would begin to
Speaker 2: do that.
Speaker 1: I'm not too certain. That's something I'm not aware of.
Speaker 1: Certain things come out in court for various reasons. That's
Speaker 1: something that never came out through the investigation or court records.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I mean also to what's the saying, If
Speaker 2: there's a will, there's.
Speaker 1: A way, right, I guess so now. Prosecutors later stated
Speaker 1: that Jalen attempted to persuade some of these girls to
Speaker 1: meet him by offering them money. In fact, if you
Speaker 1: read the messages which some can be found online if
Speaker 1: you dig deep enough, though I do not advise it.
Speaker 1: He is situating himself as quote, a sugar daddy to
Speaker 1: these young girls. Okay, now, he talked to them about
Speaker 1: meeting up in secret offering them money, money in which
Speaker 1: was the clear driving force in encouraging these young girls
Speaker 1: to sleep with him. And yes, for the record, these conversations,
Speaker 1: there is clear indication of age in one message. In fact,
Speaker 1: he asked one of the Jane does how old she
Speaker 1: was and if she was a virgin, and she said, yes,
Speaker 1: she's twelve and she's a virgin. And his response, I
Speaker 1: quote that is so fucking hot.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, that is so disturbing.
Speaker 1: I know.
Speaker 2: And so when they were meeting up with him for money,
Speaker 2: they were aware of what the meetup was, correct, that
Speaker 2: it was for sex.
Speaker 1: Correct, Hence why he's the sugar daddy and they're meeting
Speaker 1: up for sexual favor sexual as this is very much
Speaker 1: so solicitation of sex with a minor.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well they're so young like that, that's not something
Speaker 2: they can you know, decide exactly.
Speaker 1: But for them, the prospect of money is large. So
Speaker 1: there's even if you go into these conversations again, I
Speaker 1: do not advise it. But he's offering them a couple
Speaker 1: hundred bucks and they're like, oh my god, that's so
Speaker 1: much money. I can buy so many things. So they're
Speaker 1: just looking at the dollar figure and not realizing what's
Speaker 1: really going on, what they're really getting themselves into.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, in their mind, okay, say it's two hundred bucks.
Speaker 2: They can go to Claire's and get like a basket
Speaker 2: full of shit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they can go on twelve year old like a
Speaker 1: shopping spree. Okay, many girls at age too. They start
Speaker 1: learning about name brands and stuff, and it's like how
Speaker 1: many pairs of Lulu Lemon can I buy myself? That
Speaker 1: sort of stuff goes through their head.
Speaker 2: Gosh, my blood is already boiling.
Speaker 1: Fair enough, this is a disgusting case, to say the least. Now,
Speaker 1: with these conversations Jalen is having with these underage girls,
Speaker 1: these very young girls, he's not only trying to encourage
Speaker 1: them to well, he's not trying to only solicit them
Speaker 1: in some conversations. He also encouraged them to bring their friends,
Speaker 1: attempting to arrange situations where he could meet multiple miners
Speaker 1: at once. Now, what made the situation Even more disturbing
Speaker 1: to investigators was that Jalen did not appear to hide
Speaker 1: his identity in these conversations. According to prosecutors, he openly
Speaker 1: told some of the girls that he was, in fact
Speaker 1: law enforcement, and in certain cases, he even sent photos
Speaker 1: of himself wearing the sheriff's uniform. Now, for young victims,
Speaker 1: think twelve fourteen year old girls, that revelation created an
Speaker 1: additional layer of fear in this situation. One, Yeah, realizing
Speaker 1: you're speaking with someone who's a deputy sheriff, it made
Speaker 1: them hesitant to tell any one of what's happening because
Speaker 1: of the power that someone in that position would That
Speaker 1: is scary.
Speaker 2: He's using that to his advantage.
Speaker 1: One hundred percent. Now, at the time of these communications
Speaker 1: and when they were taking place, these were during those
Speaker 1: two weeks, and however, no formal report was yet to
Speaker 1: be made by police. This was just occurring at this time,
Speaker 1: but that would soon change. On April ninth, twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: the San Diego County Sheriff's Crime Stopper Program received two
Speaker 1: separate tips. Both reports described an unidentified adult male who
Speaker 1: had allegedly been engaging in inappropriate activity with a juvenile now,
Speaker 1: crime stoppers tips are often the starting point for investigations
Speaker 1: as they allow people to report potential crimes without revealing
Speaker 1: their identity, which can encourage witnesses or concerned individuals to
Speaker 1: come forward when they might otherwise stay silent. And in
Speaker 1: this case, the information provided in the tips was serious
Speaker 1: enough that the matter was quickly forwarded to the Chula
Speaker 1: Vista Police Department for further investigation. Now, at that point,
Speaker 1: investigators knew very little of the situation. They had reports
Speaker 1: of an adult man and a juvenile victim, but the
Speaker 1: suspect had not yet been publicly identified, and detectives would
Speaker 1: have to determine whether the claims were credible, and, if so,
Speaker 1: who the suspect actually was. So, as investigators started reviewing
Speaker 1: the details and the provided tips, they began examining online
Speaker 1: communities and digital evidence connected to the alleged interactions. Through
Speaker 1: this process, they were able to identify individuals who may
Speaker 1: have been involved and began speaking with potential victims. Before long,
Speaker 1: the scope of the situation started to grow. Detectives initially
Speaker 1: believed the case involved a single victim, but as they
Speaker 1: continued their investigation, they discovered additional underage girls who had
Speaker 1: also been contacted, and they determined that the case involved
Speaker 1: multiple victims, including at least three girls who had communicated
Speaker 1: with the suspect. Further investigation would later confirm that four
Speaker 1: victims in total were connected to the case. So as
Speaker 1: detectives pieced together the communications and accounts from the victims,
Speaker 1: the clear picture of the suspect began to emerge. The
Speaker 1: man behind the messages was, in fact, Jalen Devon Fleer,
Speaker 1: a deputy sheriff working for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Now,
Speaker 1: the discovery immediately raised the stakes for the investigation, because
Speaker 1: a suspect was someone who held a position of authority
Speaker 1: in the community, someone entrusted with enforcing the law. Now,
Speaker 1: at the time, Jalen Fleer had been working at that
Speaker 1: Central Jail, where he had spent much of his career
Speaker 1: supervising inmates as part of the department's Detention Service operations,
Speaker 1: and as the investigation intensified, detectives arranged to question Jalen directly. Now,
Speaker 1: the interview took place at the San Diego Central Jail
Speaker 1: where he worked, and investigators made it very clear from
Speaker 1: the beginning that the common conversation that they were having
Speaker 1: with Jalen was voluntary. Before the questions began, Jalen was
Speaker 1: informed that he was not under arrest. He was free
Speaker 1: to leave at any time. They pointed out the exits
Speaker 1: in the room where they were talking to him, everything
Speaker 1: The doors were unlocked. Detectives explained he could refuse to
Speaker 1: answer any questions and the interview you name it. After
Speaker 1: acknowledging those conditions and signing a form confirming he understood them,
Speaker 1: the interrogation officially began. Now it's important to say he
Speaker 1: agreed to all of this because of the approach in
Speaker 1: which he was interviewed. The detectives employed the classic good cop,
Speaker 1: bad cop routine. So two of them walked in. One
Speaker 1: sat back, almost like they were annoyed that they were
Speaker 1: even having to be there, very brash, abrupt, not saying much,
Speaker 1: not really engaging, while the other detective walked in smiling, friendly,
Speaker 1: down playing the reason that they were even there. They
Speaker 1: were just there in order to get, you know, finish
Speaker 1: off some files and clean up some paperwork on a
Speaker 1: call that was that was called in. They just need
Speaker 1: to talk just because it's formality, that's about.
Speaker 2: It, Almost like their colleagues right exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So she maintained a very calm, friendly tone, did
Speaker 1: a very good job of building a rapport with Jalen.
Speaker 1: She asked about his background. She's like, I want to
Speaker 1: know who I'm talking to, So I asked about his background,
Speaker 1: his time playing baseball in school. She even like, oh,
Speaker 1: well you were a picture. How's your arm holding up?
Speaker 1: Did you ice it? And stuff like that, like, oh
Speaker 1: that's awesome, good for you, those sorts of things, and
Speaker 1: even his personal life, these things she was going on
Speaker 1: about recent marriages. He was having a child soon, his wife,
Speaker 1: he was married not too long ago.
Speaker 2: Are you shitting me?
Speaker 1: These conversations often drifted into casual territory, creating the impression
Speaker 1: that the interview was routine and that the detective was
Speaker 1: sympathetic of him, realizing he was likely, you know, innocent,
Speaker 1: even though they knew otherwise. Yeah, but yes, he was
Speaker 1: married and having a kid.
Speaker 2: Okay, well we'll touch on that more because that's fucked.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But also this is almost like an art to it,
Speaker 2: or like a science to some degree, right, Like they're
Speaker 2: you know, they're they're acting in a way, yes, get
Speaker 2: what they need and stuff. So I like it's incredible.
Speaker 2: I don't think I would be very good at that.
Speaker 1: This interrogation is easily found on YouTube, and I highly
Speaker 1: recommend you look it up because it is well done.
Speaker 1: It is picture perfect. They couldn't have done any better.
Speaker 2: Because you also have to think too, how freaking disappointing
Speaker 2: is that to them? Right? Like they're that they're one
Speaker 2: of them? Is you know, the freaking suspect. I don't know.
Speaker 2: I just can't imagine being in that situation and how
Speaker 2: just shocking and upsetting that is. I know that it
Speaker 2: would be for anyone, but that it's like a law
Speaker 2: enforcement person, like.
Speaker 1: Uh for sure. Now, one of the cool things that
Speaker 1: she did while she was interrogating the good cop, she
Speaker 1: said she made it seem like he was almost in
Speaker 1: a position of power because there's one thing she said
Speaker 1: about how I might need your help getting out of
Speaker 1: here later because this I've never been here before. Oh,
Speaker 1: almost like putting him like he's going to show her
Speaker 1: how to get out of here and she's relying on him.
Speaker 2: Holy moly, well done.
Speaker 1: She's so well done. Now she worked to make Jalen
Speaker 1: very comfortable the questions that he had already answered. You
Speaker 1: know about high school, All those sort of things began
Speaker 1: to be explored more things he already answered to, so
Speaker 1: things they already came out of his mouth. Then they
Speaker 1: started poking deeper at those things, so he couldn't lie
Speaker 1: anymore because he already answered them, right. And there were
Speaker 1: things about social media accounts, and he voluntarily mentioned his
Speaker 1: Snapchat that he of course hasn't used for a long time.
Speaker 1: But investigators they believe that the inappropriate communications were taking
Speaker 1: place with that Snapchat, and gradually detectives introduced the evidence
Speaker 1: that they had already gathered. They showed Jalen a portrait
Speaker 1: photograph that had been linked to a Snapchat account associated
Speaker 1: with his name, email address, and explained that that image
Speaker 1: had been sent to a younger female. Now, for the record,
Speaker 1: this photo that they discuss in this interview, it's just
Speaker 1: a portrait photo. Nothing wrong with this image, okay. However,
Speaker 1: the implications of this is did you send this completely
Speaker 1: normal photo to a girl? Would then mean well, that's
Speaker 1: your account because you also sent genital photos and sexual suggests.
Speaker 2: It goes deeper, right, okay, But even just a normal
Speaker 2: photo from a grown ass man sent to a child,
Speaker 2: isn't you know?
Speaker 1: Okay? Exactly. It's not okay, but it's at least.
Speaker 2: Not sectional, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1: Now, Jalen did acknowledge that that photo was in fact him,
Speaker 1: and he admitted that he had shared similar images with
Speaker 1: adult partners in the past, sent that photo to his
Speaker 1: wife or x, and he repeatedly denied communicating with minors.
Speaker 1: He also answered questions and confirmed that he had sent
Speaker 1: sexual photos of himself as well, but again only to
Speaker 1: adult partners. No matter the questions, though throughout the interview,
Speaker 1: Jalen attempted to distance himself from that Snapchat account whenever
Speaker 1: questioned about it, claiming he had deleted the app long ago,
Speaker 1: but not the account, so it's probably still active, he
Speaker 1: would say, and suggesting that any activity linked to the
Speaker 1: account was not from his doing.
Speaker 2: Okay, you're really just trying to dig yourself out of
Speaker 2: something here a whole.
Speaker 1: And the funny part about this, if you watch this interview,
Speaker 1: not once does he ever seem concerned that he is
Speaker 1: being you know, alleged that he was communicating sexually with
Speaker 1: a minor. He is more concerned with that wasn't me
Speaker 1: on the account. The allegations never seemed to get a
Speaker 1: reaction out of him. At all, because he was already
Speaker 1: prepared for this conversation. He already knew what was coming,
Speaker 1: and he was already ready to deny.
Speaker 2: So did he seem uncomfortable at all?
Speaker 1: He seemed uncomfortable, sure, okay, but he wasn't shocked or surprised.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: If imagine this, You get sat down in a boardroom
Speaker 1: and detectives are accusing you of predatory behavior with minors
Speaker 1: and you didn't do it, You're going to be shocked.
Speaker 1: If you did do it, What are you going to do? Deny?
Speaker 2: Hmm, Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1: And that's the exact behavior you see in him during
Speaker 1: that interview.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Now, detectives continued to push, and they kept questioning him
Speaker 1: about user names, email accounts, phone numbers, and the timeline
Speaker 1: of his social media activity, trying to establish how the
Speaker 1: account could be connected to him. At one point, Jalen
Speaker 1: even asked whether he should have a lawyer present. But
Speaker 1: thanks to the good cop bad cop that was being
Speaker 1: employed in the questioning, when he asked the one detective
Speaker 1: that had already built that good rapport with him, instead
Speaker 1: of directly advising him yes or no, the detective did
Speaker 1: a masterful response by downplaying the situation and explaining that
Speaker 1: they were simply investigating investigating the allegations and wanted to
Speaker 1: head to the truth of the story. However, this is
Speaker 1: where it gets interesting because if that good cop asked
Speaker 1: any more questions related to this case, Jalen would then
Speaker 1: employ I want the lawyer. But the bad cop hadn't
Speaker 1: spoken at all yet. So this is where the bad
Speaker 1: cop finally spoke up and said, well, do you mind
Speaker 1: if I ask a couple questions, and right back on
Speaker 1: track with asking questions because Jalen agreed to answer that
Speaker 1: CoP's questions.
Speaker 2: Now, huh okay, well that yeah, see that. I want
Speaker 2: to watch this. This sounds almost, for lack of better words,
Speaker 2: and entertaining, because it's a terrible thing they're having to
Speaker 2: do here, but it like they're doing a good job,
Speaker 2: which you can respect.
Speaker 1: They do it masterfully because, like I said, if that
Speaker 1: good cop said, you know what, we're just trying to
Speaker 1: get to the bottom of this, can I ask you
Speaker 1: more questions, he would be like, no, I think I've
Speaker 1: answered enough. I want my lawyer. But since the other
Speaker 1: cop jumped in was like, well, I haven't asked you
Speaker 1: anything yet, it's almost like changing the topic, and they asked,
Speaker 1: can I ask you some questions? And he said yes, yeah.
Speaker 2: They continued, well, and then I'm just curious too if
Speaker 2: it almost could be an intimidation thing with the bad
Speaker 2: cop too. It's like, well, i haven't got to ask
Speaker 2: anything yet and I'm in the room, like, did he
Speaker 2: come across almost as intimidating?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 2: No, okay, just not friendly. Okay, not friendly is all
Speaker 2: it is. It's business exactly, Okay.
Speaker 1: Now, Eventually, after a few more questions with that bad
Speaker 1: cop and the mounting pressure in the room, Jalen realized
Speaker 1: exactly what was at stake here, and they told him
Speaker 1: they had evidence and it was being fully investigated, and
Speaker 1: that he said he no longer wanted to continue answering
Speaker 1: these questions. The detectives respected his decision. They didn't push.
Speaker 1: As soon as he said he wasn't going to answer
Speaker 1: questions or anything, they said, all right, let's bring this
Speaker 1: interview to a close. It has been completely voluntary, Thank
Speaker 1: you for your time, all that sort of stuff. However,
Speaker 1: the investigation was far from being over now. At this point,
Speaker 1: when the interview ended, detectives had already secured search warrants
Speaker 1: approved by the judge earlier that day, they got those
Speaker 1: search warrants, and as soon as the interview ended and
Speaker 1: Jalen got up and was expecting to leave, that's when
Speaker 1: they informed them that they had the warrants authorizing investigators
Speaker 1: to collect his DNA swabs, sees electronic devices that he
Speaker 1: might have evidence in such on them, including his personal
Speaker 1: cell phone, and also a warrant that allowed investigators to
Speaker 1: search his vehicle, his work locker, and his home.
Speaker 2: His wife was yeah with who is pregnant, yes, which
Speaker 2: is very disturbing now.
Speaker 1: Once the allegations surfaced and investigators were done with the interview,
Speaker 1: the Sheriff's department moved quickly to distance him from any
Speaker 1: sort of active duty, and Jalen was removed from his
Speaker 1: position at the jail and placed on administrative assignment while
Speaker 1: the investigation continued. Because it is still investigation, he's not
Speaker 1: under arrest yet right and according to officials, this meant
Speaker 1: he could no longer have any sort of direct interaction
Speaker 1: with the public or inmates. In addition, the department took
Speaker 1: the step of stripping him of his peace officer authority,
Speaker 1: effectively suspending the powers that came with his role. As deputy.
Speaker 1: In a public statement, the department acknowledged the seriousness of
Speaker 1: the allegations, while emphasizing that the alleged crimes were not
Speaker 1: connected to Jalen's official duties as a deputy. It was him,
Speaker 1: and solely him, essentially, if these allegations were true. Still,
Speaker 1: the department made it clear that the situation was being
Speaker 1: treated with urgency and care. Officials stated that the Sheriff's
Speaker 1: department fully cooperated with the Chula Vista Police Department investigation,
Speaker 1: and even an internal affairs investigation was also initiated by
Speaker 1: the agency. Now, while the criminal investigation continued and detectives
Speaker 1: began searching these seized items from the warrants and all
Speaker 1: reviewing the digital communications and speaking with the victims, all
Speaker 1: those sort of things, it didn't take long for the
Speaker 1: full scale of the situation to come to light. What
Speaker 1: had initially appeared to involve only a few victims soon
Speaker 1: revealed a much broader pattern of behavior. According to prosecutors,
Speaker 1: Jalen had communicated with dozens of accounts online that identified
Speaker 1: themselves as miners. In fact, investigators ultimately determined that he
Speaker 1: had contacted more than forty individuals who had claimed to
Speaker 1: be under age. Now, not all of those individuals could
Speaker 1: be identified or located by investigators, and authorities were unable
Speaker 1: to confirm whether every single account actually belonged to a minor. However,
Speaker 1: the number of contacts suggested that Jalen had been actively
Speaker 1: reaching out to a large pool of young girls.
Speaker 2: He will two things. So that does mean that a
Speaker 2: lot of them ended up turning him down, I'm assuming,
Speaker 2: which is good, But the numbers probably could have been
Speaker 2: higher if that wasn't the case.
Speaker 1: Possibly, yes, very much, so true.
Speaker 2: And then this is just so smart too of the detectives,
Speaker 2: because as soon as he left that interview, he would
Speaker 2: be going and trying to delete as much shit or
Speaker 2: hide as much stuff as he could, right, Yeah. And
Speaker 2: so for them to just be like bang on the table,
Speaker 2: like here's our warrant, that is just bravo.
Speaker 1: Yeah. They, like I said, it was masterful. They played
Speaker 1: the good cop bad routine until it wore out, and
Speaker 1: the second it wore out, it was like, oh, by
Speaker 1: the way, yeah, here's all our warrants.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you're not going to be able to hide shit.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So I will put a link to the interview
Speaker 1: in the description of this podcast if you want to
Speaker 1: check it out, but before you do, let me continue now.
Speaker 1: Deputy District Attorney Jalen wang Different. Jalen later told the
Speaker 1: court that Jaylen appeared to cast a wide net when
Speaker 1: communicating with minors. Quote, he spread the net very wide.
Speaker 1: He really just tried to reach as many young girls
Speaker 1: as possible. Investigators also learned that Jalen sometimes attempted to
Speaker 1: persuade girls by offering them money. In certain conversations, he
Speaker 1: encouraged victims to bring friends as well, as I mentioned,
Speaker 1: suggesting he was trying to expand the numbers of individuals
Speaker 1: he could reach or meet. According to prosecutors, a few
Speaker 1: of the accounts in which he had contacted listed ages
Speaker 1: as low as nine years old, though as I mentioned,
Speaker 1: detectives were not able to verify the identities behind every profile.
Speaker 1: For investigators, the growing number of contacts suggested that the
Speaker 1: situation was not limited to a single encounter or isolated incident. Instead,
Speaker 1: it appeared to be a pattern of behavior that he
Speaker 1: had played out across numerous conversations online. As detectives continued
Speaker 1: collecting evidence and interviewing victims, the case slowly came together,
Speaker 1: and from April through to July of twenty twenty, detectives
Speaker 1: with the Chula Vista Police Department focused on gathering the
Speaker 1: evidence needed to support the criminal charges. Now, this phase
Speaker 1: of the investigation involved reviewing online messages, documenting conversations between
Speaker 1: Jaylen and the victims and verifying the timeline of events
Speaker 1: described by those individuals. Investigators also worked to identify and
Speaker 1: interview the girls connected to the case. The digital evidence
Speaker 1: played a critical role in the investigation, and conversations and
Speaker 1: messages helped establish when the contacts occurred and what Jalen
Speaker 1: had alleged and asked victims to do. This information helped
Speaker 1: investigators map out the timeline of the interactions that took
Speaker 1: place during the brief window between late March and early April. Now,
Speaker 1: as the weeks passed, detectives continued compiling evidence and preparing
Speaker 1: for the case for prosecutors, and after months of investigation,
Speaker 1: the case against Jalen Fleer reached a critical point in
Speaker 1: the summer of twenty twenty. It was on July twenty
Speaker 1: second of that year that Jalen was officially taken into
Speaker 1: custody by the Chula Vista Police Department. Now, through my investigation,
Speaker 1: I found a couple different accounts on how this played out,
Speaker 1: and it's a little bit unclear if Jalen surrendered to
Speaker 1: authorities or if he was arrested as part of the
Speaker 1: ongoing investigation, but I'm assuming he was arrested, but either way,
Speaker 1: he's now in custody. So following the arrest, Jalen was
Speaker 1: processed and booked into the Vista Detention Facility, a jail
Speaker 1: located in the northern San Diego County. Now, because he
Speaker 1: had previously worked within the county jail system, he was
Speaker 1: not housed at the same facility where he'd been assign
Speaker 1: during his time as a deputy. At the time of
Speaker 1: his arrest, prosecutors initially filed fifteen felony charges against him.
Speaker 1: The charges include allegations such as leude acts with a minor,
Speaker 1: oral copulation with a minor under the age of sixteen,
Speaker 1: sending harmful material to seduce a minor, contacting miners with
Speaker 1: the intent to commit a sexual offense, arranging meetings with miners,
Speaker 1: pandering involving miners. Authority stated that the charges were connected
Speaker 1: to communications and encounters involving several underage girls. So basically,
Speaker 1: through the investigation authorities were able to find that not
Speaker 1: only were these conversations online, but the acts discussed were
Speaker 1: allegedly followed through in some situations as well.
Speaker 2: That's a pretty fucked up list on the name. It
Speaker 2: is what a nasty mofo.
Speaker 1: I agree. Now, As news of the arrest quickly spread
Speaker 1: through the region, the sheriff's deputy, someone sworn to uphold
Speaker 1: the law, was now sitting in jail, accused of lewd
Speaker 1: and sexual crimes involving miners. Was no surprising to say
Speaker 1: that the case immediately drew public attention, not only because
Speaker 1: the allegations themselves, but because of who the suspect was.
Speaker 1: The idea that a sheriff's deputy had been arrested on
Speaker 1: charges involving miners stunned so many people, including those who
Speaker 1: had known him before his law enforcement career. In santi
Speaker 1: where Jalen had grown up and attended Santana High School,
Speaker 1: a former classmate struggled to process the news, and that classmate,
Speaker 1: Christopher Edmondson, said, here remember Jalen as a student athlete
Speaker 1: who played both baseball and football while they were together
Speaker 1: in high school. Hearing about the allegations, Christopher said it
Speaker 1: was very difficult to believe. Quote it hit close to home.
Speaker 1: It's not one of those things you often see in
Speaker 1: this community. Like others who had known Jalen during his
Speaker 1: teenage years, Christopher described him as quote one of the guys,
Speaker 1: someone who appeared to just follow a fairly typical path
Speaker 1: after graduating. But the details of the case quickly changed
Speaker 1: that perception for many people. The most unsettling aspect of
Speaker 1: the story was, I mean, of course, outside of the
Speaker 1: child predator situation, was that Jalen's position in law enforcement
Speaker 1: and he still did those things. It didn't matter how
Speaker 1: it seemed in the past or how he seemed in
Speaker 1: the past. It was his position now, and it made
Speaker 1: the allegations even harder for the community members to accept.
Speaker 1: Christopher also said, quote, you're supposed to be held to
Speaker 1: a higher standard. It seems weird that we're allowing these
Speaker 1: kinds of people to get into positions of power now.
Speaker 1: Not long after his arrest, Jalen was brought before a
Speaker 1: judge for his first formal court appearance. During his arrangement,
Speaker 1: Jalen faced the charges that had been filed against him,
Speaker 1: and at this stage of the process, the court formally
Speaker 1: presented the charges to the defendant and asked for initial plea,
Speaker 1: and Jalen pleaded not guilty to the accusations. Now, because
Speaker 1: the case involved minors, the court took additional steps to
Speaker 1: protect the privacy of the victims. Portions of the proceedings,
Speaker 1: particularly discussions surrounding the bail, were handled outside the presence
Speaker 1: of the media, and at one point reporters were asked
Speaker 1: to leave the room while attorneys presented arguments related to
Speaker 1: the case, and at the conclusion of the hearing, the
Speaker 1: judge set Jalen's bail at eight hundred thousand dollars. If
Speaker 1: he was able to post that amount, Jalen could be
Speaker 1: released from custody while the case moved through the court system,
Speaker 1: and records later indicated that he was in fact eventually
Speaker 1: released on bond, meaning the remaining time he was out
Speaker 1: simply waiting for trial to begin. Now. Around that same time,
Speaker 1: the San Diego County Sheriff's Department confirmed that Jalen was
Speaker 1: no longer employed by the agency, but job or not,
Speaker 1: the case was now moving deeper into the court's sit
Speaker 1: and as prosecutors reviewed the evidence gathered by investigators, the
Speaker 1: case against Jalen actually expanded beyond the initial charges filed
Speaker 1: at the time of his arrest. The San Diego count
Speaker 1: District's Attorney office eventually found a criminal complaint that included
Speaker 1: twenty separate counts, this time tied to Jalen's alleged actions.
Speaker 1: The charges were made up of eighteen felony counts and
Speaker 1: two misdemeanor counts, And the counts you know, they covered
Speaker 1: a range of offenses related to Jalen's communication and interactions
Speaker 1: with the miners during that period of time that investigators
Speaker 1: had identified. This very same as the ones I read earlier,
Speaker 1: just expanded on a few more. Now. The complaint confirmed
Speaker 1: that the criminal case involved four victims, all of whom
Speaker 1: were between the ages of fourteen and twelve at the
Speaker 1: time of the alleged incident which I also mentioned Jane
Speaker 1: Doe through Jane Doe one and four Now. Investigators also
Speaker 1: reiterated that the victims did not know one another, indicating
Speaker 1: Jalen had contacted them separately rather than a shared social group,
Speaker 1: which is very important because he is on the search,
Speaker 1: on the hunt targeting these young girls, is what that says. So,
Speaker 1: with the criminal complaint filed and the charges now clearly outlined,
Speaker 1: the case appeared to be headed towards a preliminary hearing.
Speaker 1: In cases involving felony charges, this hearing allows prosecutors to
Speaker 1: present evidence to a judge to determine whether there is
Speaker 1: enough cause for the case to proceed to trial. For Jaylen,
Speaker 1: that hearing was originally expected to take place not long
Speaker 1: after his arrangement. However, the timeline began to shift. According
Speaker 1: to court documents, Jalen chose to waive his right to
Speaker 1: a speedy preliminary hearing, a legal option that allows the
Speaker 1: defendant to postpone the proceedings, and by doing so, the
Speaker 1: defendant gains more time to review the evidence and prepare
Speaker 1: for the next stage of the case. As a result,
Speaker 1: the preliminary hearing was rescheduled, pushing the time further into
Speaker 1: the future. At that point, the detail of the case
Speaker 1: had still not fully been discussed in the open court,
Speaker 1: so we don't know a whole lot about all the findings.
Speaker 2: Still, I feel like he's just pushing jail time for himself, really,
Speaker 2: because right now he's at home or whatever as possible.
Speaker 1: It could be too that, you know what, his attorneys
Speaker 1: are advising him that they need to look at these
Speaker 1: details weigh their options a little bit more. Either way,
Speaker 1: he's postponing the inevitable now because the victims were minors,
Speaker 1: the judge overseeing the case had already taken steps to
Speaker 1: limit the public release of certain information, and many of
Speaker 1: the specific surrounding allegations remain sealed within the court record,
Speaker 1: which is one of the very same reasons I'm not
Speaker 1: going into many details with this story today. Regardless, for
Speaker 1: months the case remained in this holding pattern as both
Speaker 1: sides prepared for what was basically to become a lengthy
Speaker 1: legal battle. But before the case could ever reach the
Speaker 1: stage where prosecutors would have to present their evidence in
Speaker 1: a full here ving, something happened. You see, as the
Speaker 1: case moved closer to the preliminary hearing, prosecutors were preparing
Speaker 1: to present that evidence, laying it all out against Jalen
Speaker 1: in detail, and if the case had continued down that path,
Speaker 1: the victims may even had to eventually been required to
Speaker 1: testify about what had happened in court. But before the
Speaker 1: legal process reached that point, Jalen changed his plea. Rather
Speaker 1: than continuing to contest the charges, Jalen pleaded guilty to
Speaker 1: all twenty counts filed against him. The plea included both
Speaker 1: eighteen felony charges and two misdemeanor charges outlined in the
Speaker 1: criminal complaint. By entering a guilty plea, Jalen effectively admitted
Speaker 1: responsibility for the crimes listed in the case. His defense attorney,
Speaker 1: David Shapiro, later stated that the decision was made in
Speaker 1: part to prevent the victims from having to testify in
Speaker 1: open court. Whether that is a real intention or not,
Speaker 1: the fact does remain that trials involving minors can be
Speaker 1: particularly dick difficult for victims, especially when they're required to
Speaker 1: publicly recount traumatic events like these. In fact, it is
Speaker 1: possible that they were telling the truth that that is
Speaker 1: one of the reasons. But maybe the plea was changed
Speaker 1: in order to save the victims from taking the stand,
Speaker 1: perhaps for reasons of you know, Jalen's actions not fully
Speaker 1: coming to light, rather than saving them the trauma.
Speaker 2: He doesn't just get to be the good guy now
Speaker 2: with that that like that ship is sales.
Speaker 1: And that's what they're trying to do.
Speaker 2: Gosh, Basically, he knows that he doesn't stand a chance.
Speaker 2: And I feel like having a twelve year old girl
Speaker 2: up there, having to share her story would make you
Speaker 2: look even frickin' worse than just hearing the shit, right, which.
Speaker 1: Is probably exactly what the defense attorneys were advising him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so no, it wasn't. He wasn't being this good
Speaker 2: guy like that. He he can't be anymore. Pets.
Speaker 1: I agree with you, yep, hitting the nail on the
Speaker 1: head there now, whether that was the case or not,
Speaker 1: whether they were actually worried about them or Jalen or whatever.
Speaker 1: By pleading guilty before the case reached trial, Jalen eliminated
Speaker 1: the need for that process. And also, hey, plea deal, right,
Speaker 1: and all that remained now was sentencing. On June eighteenth,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, Jalen appeared in San Diego County Superior
Speaker 1: Court in Cheula Vista for the hearing that would determine
Speaker 1: how much time he would spend behind bars. The case
Speaker 1: was presided over by Judge Michael Popkins, who had reviewed
Speaker 1: the details of the investigation and the charges Jalen had
Speaker 1: admitted to. But before the sentencing was handed down, Jalen's
Speaker 1: defense attorney made one last attempt to convince the court
Speaker 1: to impose a lighter punishment. David Shapiro, representing Jalen, argued
Speaker 1: that several factors should be taken into account when determining
Speaker 1: the sentencing. One of the primary points raised by the
Speaker 1: defense was that Jalen's decision to plead guilty before the
Speaker 1: case reached trial. Shapiro told the court that by accepting
Speaker 1: responsibility in the early process, Jalen had prevented the victims
Speaker 1: from having to testify in the court and relive the
Speaker 1: events publicly, a defense that, in my opinion, is as
Speaker 1: pathetic as it gets. The defense also pointed to steps
Speaker 1: Jalen had taken after the investigation began. According to Shapiro,
Speaker 1: Jalen had voluntarily entered a treatment program months earlier and
Speaker 1: had already participated in forty six therapy sessions. Shapiro argued
Speaker 1: that these efforts show Jalen was attempting to address his
Speaker 1: behavior and begin what he described as a long process
Speaker 1: of rehabilitation. And again, to me, it's not much of
Speaker 1: a defense. He's only seeking this therapy in hindsight, because
Speaker 1: he got caught. Why didn't he volunteers for that therapy beforehand?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. None of this is just sitting
Speaker 2: well with me, Like I don't give a shit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but when it came down to it, Shapiro asked
Speaker 1: the judge to consider imposing a short sentence, requesting that
Speaker 1: he get just over nine years in prison rather than
Speaker 1: the longer term prosecutors were seeking. Prosecutors, on the other hand,
Speaker 1: outlined the nature of the crimes and the victims involved,
Speaker 1: and after considering the evidence and the charges Jalen had
Speaker 1: admitted to, Judge Pompkins addressed the courtroom in a statement
Speaker 1: that highlighted the severity and disgusting behavior in the case.
Speaker 1: The judge said, quote, I have never seen a more
Speaker 1: despicable set of facts as I've seen in this case.
Speaker 1: Moments later, he handed down the sentence. Jalen Flear was
Speaker 1: sentenced to twelve years in a California state prison.
Speaker 2: What the shit here? I was like, Okay, gosh good,
Speaker 2: it's not going to be nine years, but twelve years
Speaker 2: is barely anymore.
Speaker 1: I agree. It was an absurdly light sentence for the crimes,
Speaker 1: but because of his early plea deal, Jalen avoided a
Speaker 1: full trial in the possibility of decades behind bars and
Speaker 1: honestly facing the full extent of his crimes.
Speaker 2: Whoa that is just maddening to me. Twelve fricking years.
Speaker 1: You have no idea how pissed off I was when
Speaker 1: I read that.
Speaker 2: During this research, Holy, I didn't think it. I was
Speaker 2: honestly thinking it could be no lower than eighteen like that.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, he should be locked up for life forever. Yes,
Speaker 2: because we've talked about this before. If it involves a minor,
Speaker 2: like you know, you don't get any more freaking chances
Speaker 2: like you're done.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: Now, had the case gone to trial and resulted in
Speaker 1: convictions on every account, which it likely would have, I mean,
Speaker 1: he admitted to all of them, he pled guilty, Jaalen
Speaker 1: could have faced a significant, longer prison sentence. But if
Speaker 1: you ask me, he got away extremely for what he did,
Speaker 1: unacceptably so. In fact, the light sentence was not the
Speaker 1: only penalty Jayleen would face as a result of the case, though.
Speaker 1: In addition to the twelve year term in state prison,
Speaker 1: the court ordered several long term conditions that would follow
Speaker 1: him long after his sentence was complete. One of the
Speaker 1: most significant consequences that Jalen would be required to do
Speaker 1: was register as a sex offender for the rest of
Speaker 1: his life. This requirement meant that once his release from
Speaker 1: prison occurred, his status and resident information must be reported
Speaker 1: to authorities and be maintained within the public sex offender Registry.
Speaker 1: The court also ordered Jayleen to have no contact with
Speaker 1: the victims or their families, a condition intended to protect
Speaker 1: those involved in the case moving forward. For Jaylen, the
Speaker 1: ruling meant that even after serving his prison sentence, the
Speaker 1: impact of the conviction would continue to effect nearly every aspect.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say nearby aspects, but no, it's nearly
Speaker 1: every reaspect of his life. Employment opportunities, housing opportunities, personal relationships.
Speaker 1: They would all be influenced by this permanently. But even still,
Speaker 1: it's not enough, if you ask me, not even close.
Speaker 2: No.
Speaker 1: Now, even after Jaylen had been sentenced in the criminal case,
Speaker 1: the legal consequences of the situation were not over. A
Speaker 1: civil lawsuit was later filed against both both Jaylen and
Speaker 1: the County of San Diego, alleging that Jaylen had contacted
Speaker 1: a minor through social media while he was still working
Speaker 1: as a sheriff's deputy. Now, according to the complaints, the
Speaker 1: girl in the situation was thirteen years old at the time. Now,
Speaker 1: the lawsuit claims Jalen contacted her through Snapchat, where he
Speaker 1: allegedly sent explicit sexual images and messages, which we know
Speaker 1: has occurred because he pled guilty. The filing also stated
Speaker 1: that Jaylen sent the girl a photograph of himself wearing
Speaker 1: a sheriff's uniform, and the girl's attorney argued that this
Speaker 1: detail may have made the situation even more intimidating for
Speaker 1: a young victim, given that the person contacting her was
Speaker 1: a law enforcement officer, and we talked about that earlier,
Speaker 1: that is very much so intimidating. According to the lawsuit,
Speaker 1: Jalen allegedly attempted to arrange a meeting and offered the
Speaker 1: girl one hundred dollars to participate in a sexual encounter
Speaker 1: involving another miner. The girl's attorney, Dan Gillion, so the
Speaker 1: lawsuit was filed to help secure financial support for the
Speaker 1: victim's long term counseling and treatment, noting that the young
Speaker 1: victims often require ongoing care to recovering from this traumatic experience. Now,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure the end results. I believe that might
Speaker 1: still be ongoing, but beyond the courtroom in the leewal cases,
Speaker 1: in this situation, Jalen Fleer was transferred to the California
Speaker 1: State prison system, where he is currently serving a measly
Speaker 1: twelve year sentence for his crimes. What started as a
Speaker 1: quiet investigation expose jay Lynn as a predator and showed
Speaker 1: a pattern of behavior that involved multiple underage victims and
Speaker 1: dozens of online contacts. Under the court's ruling, Jaylen must
Speaker 1: also register as a sex offender for the rest of
Speaker 1: his life. As we know, but as he sits serving
Speaker 1: his time, and even when he does walk free as
Speaker 1: a registered sex offender, it all feels far too lenient.
Speaker 1: Even amongst criminals, people who commit the most violent crimes
Speaker 1: you can think of, people like this are still considered monsters,
Speaker 1: but he was judged that his sentence was given beyond
Speaker 1: the predatory behavior. Cases like this often leave lasting impacts
Speaker 1: far beyond the individuals directly involved. Now yes, for the
Speaker 1: victims and their families, the experience can be very long
Speaker 1: term and emotionally heavy, with consequences that may require years
Speaker 1: of support and recovery. The case it raises broader concerns
Speaker 1: about accountability and oversight within law enforcement agencies, particularly officers
Speaker 1: misuse positions of authority, something that many people urge agencies
Speaker 1: to address through stronger internal safeguards, better monitoring of officer conduct,
Speaker 1: and swift actions when allegations of misconduct arise. For Jalen Flear,
Speaker 1: the life he once had, the former athlete who went
Speaker 1: to wear a sheriff's badge, making a strong living while
Speaker 1: it ended in the courtroom in twenty twenty one when
Speaker 1: he was finally convicted. Today he remains behind bars, serving
Speaker 1: the sentence handed down by the court for the crimes
Speaker 1: he admitted to committing, and he will forever be marked
Speaker 1: for what the courts found him to be. A predator
Speaker 1: and his victims while they're left trying to cope with
Speaker 1: their encounter with a predator. And that's the story of
Speaker 1: Jalen Fleer.
Speaker 2: This one disappoints me, me too big time. I don't time.
Speaker 2: I have such just an unsettling feeling after listening to
Speaker 2: this one. I don't know. I mean, yes, his life
Speaker 2: is completely fucked going forward, but it needs not enough really, Yeah,
Speaker 2: Like I don't know. He he just needs to be
Speaker 2: in jail longer because there's probably even the possibility of
Speaker 2: in giving out sooner.
Speaker 1: If parole or whatever.
Speaker 2: Yeah, good behavior in there or whatever.
Speaker 1: Like he did the air quotes.
Speaker 2: Oh, so he's probably like he's going to get out
Speaker 2: of jail in his forties.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because he's twenty seven years old at this at
Speaker 1: this time when this occurred. So yeah, so lately ahead
Speaker 1: of him.
Speaker 2: So even in his thirties, Like what the shit? Yeah,
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, Okay, that is I don't know. And
Speaker 2: then just like I'm just sitting here thinking, like, is
Speaker 2: because his wife was pregnant, right, and like I don't
Speaker 2: know what if it's either gender like girl or boy
Speaker 2: or whatever, but like a little girl, Like what if
Speaker 2: he has a little girl?
Speaker 1: I believe he had a little boy.
Speaker 2: But oh, okay, which I guess is a little better.
Speaker 1: But I know what you're saying.
Speaker 2: Still, I don't know that. I just I kind of
Speaker 2: hope that he just isn't involved in that kid's life
Speaker 2: at all.
Speaker 1: I have a feeling he's probably not going to be.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's a registered sex offender. Is even allowed
Speaker 1: to be around his own child with that sort of status,
Speaker 1: I don't know. That's actually that's something I've never even
Speaker 1: thought about.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I feel like he probably would get
Speaker 2: some sort of visitation maybe it's probably monitored, but I
Speaker 2: don't know. I'm not certain either.
Speaker 1: Ugh. I honestly, people like him, in my opinion, they
Speaker 1: need to be at least serving life behind bars.
Speaker 2: Because that's still a fairly young age. And then because
Speaker 2: he gets out and he has nothing right so he
Speaker 2: is just nothing, so he's going to be bored, has
Speaker 2: all this time on his hands mm hmm. And I
Speaker 2: feel like that's a super risk to the public.
Speaker 1: I agree, just registering isn't enough too, because there's still opportunities,
Speaker 1: there's stills way of way of doing things, like you know,
Speaker 1: he could do it again.
Speaker 2: M It's a big risk in my opinion.
Speaker 1: So anyways, shout out to Patreon for bringing this one
Speaker 1: to our attention. You pissed. Both Nicole and I am
Speaker 1: off just saying we're angry at this Jalen guy. I hope.
Speaker 1: I hope he has a very tough prison sentence. I
Speaker 1: will just say that life.
Speaker 2: Yes, I hope his sentence was not tough.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean. Yeah, his time serving his sentence,
Speaker 1: his prison life. I hope it is rough as fuck
Speaker 1: on him, because he deserves way worse than he caught.
Speaker 2: Yeah he did, he does.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Anyways, I'm going to end that there. Check out
Speaker 1: the description for the full interview on this story, because
Speaker 1: trust me, the investigators do a wonderful job getting information
Speaker 1: out of him and talking to him and doing the
Speaker 1: good cop bad comp Also, we got our social links
Speaker 1: down there. Don't forget us to give us a review.
Speaker 1: We're an indie podcast. It's just us and you doing
Speaker 1: a little show because hey, it's fun to do and
Speaker 1: we get to do it because you guys listen. So
Speaker 1: thank you very much, and until next time, stay wicked.
Speaker 1: U