Grass Valley Business Owner Arrested in Child Exploitation Investigation
GRASS VALLEY, CA — December 3rd 2025 — The Grass Valley Police Department has announced an ongoing child exploitation investigation following an arrest made on Friday, November 27th. The arrest was conducted in collaboration with the Nevada County District Attorney’s High-Tech Task Force.
The individual taken into custody is 49-year-old Jesse Paquin (Hopper) of Grass Valley. He faces the following felony charges:
- Distribution of Child Pornography PC 311.1(a)
- Possession of Child Pornography PC 311.11(a)
- Possession of over 600 files containing child sexual abuse material PC 311.11(c)(1)
The investigation originated from a referral by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the alleged distribution of contraband images. Grass Valley detectives identified Paquin (Hopper) as the primary suspect.
Following the execution of a search warrant on his electronic devices, which yielded material relevant to the case, Paquin was arrested and booked into the Nevada County Jail on Friday evening. Paquin (Hopper) has been identified as the owner of the Grass Valley Pasty Company, a local business known to regularly employ juveniles.
The Grass Valley Police Department is urging anyone who was previously or is currently an employee of Jesse Paquin (Hopper), or whose children were employees, to contact the investigations division at (530) 477-3188 or via email at tips@gvpd.net.
Authorities caution that this is an active and ongoing investigation and state that no further information is available for release at this time. All inquiries regarding Paquin’s prosecution should be directed to the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office.
Nevada County Jail records indicate that Paquin is still in custody as of 12:05pm 12/03/2025.
