Murder suspect charged with sexual abuse in new case

Joe Rim, who is charged with second-degree murder in the 2022 death of Stephen Jacobo, was indicted on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Rim was initially arrested several days after the shooting, but the Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office referred the case back to Mesa Police for further investigation. The 22-year-old was finally arrested again last January.

The video in the player above includes previous ABC15 coverage of Jacobo’s murder.

According to court documents, the date the alleged crimes occurred was the same day Rim was arrested on murder charges. Court records say Rim was charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor whose age was specifically listed as under 15 years old.

Stephen’s father, Mark Jacobo, spoke to ABC15 several times. He wanted justice for his son. The murder case is still pending in the courts and Rim has pleaded not guilty.

ABC15 reached out to the Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office, who confirmed the cases involve the same suspect but said they could not release any further details.

“We cannot go into details about how these accusations came to be,” MCAO Communications staff said. “We need to preserve the integrity of the case.”

MCAO told ABC15 that every case of sexual abuse of a minor is in the 10-24 year range and must be served consecutively. This means that if Rim goes to trial and is found guilty on all 10 charges, he could face between 100 and 240 years in prison, depending on the sentencing decision.