KVIG Informative

Jon Ponder built a national reputation helping former inmates rebuild their lives, earning a presidential pardon along the way. Court records show a board member warned Nevada’s top law enforcement officials about him six years before his arrest.

Jon Ponder, founder and CEO of the Las Vegas nonprofit Hope for Prisoners, was arrested Aug. 20 on 20 charges, including sexual assault, sexual abuse of a prisoner and six counts of unauthorized custodial conduct, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records. A judge set his bail at $200,000, with conditions including high-level electronic monitoring, no contact with alleged victims and surrender of his passport.

According to an arrest report, the Criminal Intelligence Section of the Nevada Department of Corrections’ Office of Inspector General began investigating in April after receiving allegations that Ponder used his contractual relationship with the department to sexually abuse female inmates. The report identifies the Jean Conservation Camp, an all-female facility that has since closed, and Casa Grande Transitional Housing as the locations where the alleged abuse occurred.

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Court records tied to a separate 2024 civil lawsuit against Ponder and the nonprofit reference a September 2020 letter written by then-Hope for Prisoners board member Kristina Wildeveld, informing the board of allegations of sexual misconduct with clients, mentors or employees involving Ponder. The letter was also sent to then-Undersheriff Kevin McMahill, now Clark County sheriff, and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson at their government email addresses, according to the court filing.

McMahill was undersheriff at the time under then-Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who is now Nevada’s governor. Lombardo has not said publicly whether he investigated the 2020 allegations against Ponder while serving as sheriff.

Ponder was briefly suspended by the Hope for Prisoners board in 2020, according to the Wildeveld letter, but the board reversed course after President Donald Trump pardoned Ponder that year, aware at the time that Trump intended to expand the organization nationally if reelected.

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Ponder’s attorney, David Chesnoff, said Ponder denies the allegations against him. Chesnoff pointed to Ponder’s ties to the community, noting the dozens of supporters, including Ponder’s wife, who filled the courtroom gallery during his arraignment. The Hope for Prisoners board placed Ponder on administrative leave immediately after his arrest, calling the charges “entirely inconsistent with the core values of the organization” and saying the organization’s daily operations would continue without interruption.

The case is now assigned to Judge Noreen DeMonte, who told the courtroom this week that nearly every judge in Clark County has likely attended a Hope for Prisoners graduation ceremony at some point — including her. Ponder’s next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 2. The 2020 letter warning two of the county’s top law enforcement officials sat on the record for six years before anyone outside Hope for Prisoners’ board saw it.