San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York used the pseudonym “Joe” while responding to a fictitious ad on a prostitution website, leading to his Sunday morning arrest in a mobile home park located in East Palestine, Ohio, according to a Tuesday report from The Athletic.
York was charged with a pair of misdemeanors, initially including a prostitution charge that was eventually amended to disorderly conduct through a plea agreement, per ESPN. York’s other charge was reportedly for possession of criminal tools, a classification that can apply to a cell phone. He pleaded no contest, was sentenced to two days in jail, one for each charge, and fined $1,150.
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The Athletic, citing an incident report from the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force, reported that police deployed an undercover advertisement, masquerading as a woman, to arrange a meeting with the 46-year-old York, who reportedly filed for divorce from his wife in May.
Jed York took over as the San Francisco 49ers’ CEO in 2008 and as the organization’s principal owner in 2024. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
(Brooke Sutton via Getty Images)
York contacted what he didn’t know was an undercover officer twice on Saturday, according to ESPN, which also cited the incident report. The undercover officer reportedly didn’t respond to York until Sunday, when York sent a third message.
York, a Youngstown, Ohio, native, messaged at 9:11 a.m. ET that he was driving in from nearby Boardman, per The Athletic. The two sides reportedly agreed on one hour of “full service sexual activity” for $160, and York was provided a fake lot number in East Palestine mobile home park, identified as the Wheat Hill Mobile Home Community in ESPN’s report.
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As reported by The Athletic, York was seen driving a rental car into the mobile home park and then back out to the main road after he couldn’t find the made-up lot number. That’s where he was reportedly stopped by police, who took York’s phone and the $160 he planned to pay. That money was ultimately forfeited to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, according to The Athletic’s report, but York’s phone was returned.
York was named the 49ers’ CEO in 2008. That’s when he assumed day-to-day control of the team from his parents. In 2024, he purchased enough equity from his family to take over as the organization’s principal owner.
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Under York’s supervision, San Francisco has reached the Super Bowl three times, although the franchise is still searching for its first ring since the 1994 season.
“As this is a legal matter, which has been resolved, we will not be providing any further comment at this time,” the 49ers said in a statement regarding York’s arrest.
The incident will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy, a league spokesperson said in a statement, according to multiple outlets.
Notably, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft didn’t face punishment from the NFL after he was accused of paying for sex with a woman at a massage parlor. However, the charges against Kraft, misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution, were dropped.
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