LISTEN: Man explodes at judge in profanity-filled tirade after jury finds him guilty of raping family member

ST. ANTHONY — After being found guilty of raping an adult family member, Jacob Oberg lashed out in a profanity-filled tirade late Wednesday night and demanded District Judge Darren B. Simpson sentence him immediately.

“I want to be sentenced now!” Oberg yelled in court.

“I cannot sentence you now,” Simpson responded. “Mr. Oberg, before I can sentence you, this court has an obligation to obtain a pre-sentence investigation.”

Oberg interrupted, “Bull f***** s***,” mocked the judge and cursed for nearly a minute until he was ordered out of the Fremont County courtroom.

Oberg’s outburst was the latest occurrence in a bizarre case that has lasted over 18 months.

‘Our minds foggy’

The Utah man was arrested in September 2017 and charged with the rape of a 24-year-old female family member that occurred during a camping trip in Island Park.

The case culminated in a trial held last October that ended with a hung jury, so this was the second time Oberg’s case was heard in district court.

His second trial began Tuesday and concluded after a 14-hour day in court Wednesday. The jury deliberated over five hours and notified the judge of their decision around 10:15 p.m.

During the trial, Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Marcia Murdoch outlined the victim’s account of the rape after she had been drugged.

Murdoch summarized testimony from an inmate who said Oberg confessed to the crime while the two were in jail together. According to the testimony, Oberg placed the antipsychotic drug Seroquel in the victim’s beer, and both of them were smoking marijuana before the incident.

In a letter Oberg sent to EastIdahoNews.com two weeks before the trial, he admitted to having sex with the family member but claimed it was consensual and that “we were both drunk and our minds foggy.”

READ: The letter Jacob Oberg sent to EastIdahoNews.com

Defense attorney Sean Bartholick told the court there was no physical evidence the victim had been raped or tested for drugs. He says Snapchat messages between the two, presented as exhibits, only show that the family members had sex, but not that the victim had been drugged.

Bartholick told the jurors it was the state’s job — not theirs — to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Oberg was guilty. He said prosecutors were hopeful jurors would be so disgusted by the event that they would convict Oberg of rape.

Early on in the hearing, Oberg’s other defense attorney, Challis McNally, called the victim’s mother to the stand. She testified against her own daughter and said, “She is not truthful.”

The victim also took the stand and calmly answered questions presented by the prosecution and defense. She testified about Snapchat messages retrieved from Oberg’s phone that showed he and the victim discussed the encounter afterward.

“Ok sorry that I went too far, I was drunk, I know that is no exvuse (sic),” Oberg wrote in one message to the woman.

She spoke about bringing up the possibility in Snapchat messages with Oberg that she may be pregnant and asked if he had used a condom. He responded that he had used a condom and did not have any sexually transmitted diseases.

Oberg did not take the stand during the trial and, at one point had to be reprimanded by his attorney after he burst into laughter.

The jury found Oberg guilty of rape and then found him guilty of being a persistent violator because he was on probation for unrelated crimes committed in Utah.

‘I don’t give a flying f***’

As Simpson began to explain when sentencing would occur, Oberg objected. Simpson told him he needed to object through his counsel, and a visibly upset Oberg responded by saying his counsel no longer represented him.

“I represent myself at this point,” Oberg said. “I want to be sentenced now!”

After the judge said he could not be sentenced until a pre-sentence report was done, Oberg replied, “You can go f*** yourself then!”

The judge told Oberg he could be held in contempt, at which point Oberg mocked Simpson and said, “What are you going to do about it, mother f*****?”

“You’re helping yourself a lot Mr. Oberg,” Simpson said.

“I don’t give a flying f***,” Oberg replied. “What are you going to do about it? Sentence me to prison?”

The bailiff then removed Oberg from the courtroom, but the cursing continued into the hallway and could be heard throughout the building.

The minimum sentence for rape is one year in prison, and the minimum sentence for being a persistent violator is five years. The maximum sentence for either charge is life.

Oberg will be sentenced May 24. He has additional court dates scheduled for a charge of felony perjury after he allegedly filled out paperwork saying he had never had previous felony convictions.