Little People producer who Jacob Roloff accused of molestation only served 73 days in jail for child sex crime in 2008
THE Little People, Big World producer who is accused of “molesting” Jacob Roloff pleaded guilty to a child sex crime in 2008, but he only served 73 days in jail, The Sun can exclusively reveal.
In December, Jacob, 24, claimed on Instagram he was “molested” and “groomed” by executive field producer Christopher Cardamone.
Chris, 44, served as a senior producer on the TLC program for 134 episodes between 2007-2010.
Jacob was between the ages of 10 to 13 years old when Chris worked on the show.
The Sun can exclusively reveal that during his time on the Oregon-based show, Chris was arrested on October 20, 2008 in Santa Clara, California for child sex crimes.
It is unclear if the victim in the case is Jacob.
A Public Information Officer for the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office told The Sun: “In September 2008, a child molestation investigation was conducted by Sheriff’s deputies and detectives.
“The suspect, Christopher Cardamone, was ultimately arrested and booked into the Main Jail in San Jose for felony lewd and lascivious acts with a minor.”
According to court papers obtained by The Sun, Chris was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 with force, two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, and one count of cruelty to child with possible injury or death.
He was held on $200,000 bond, which was posted on November 12, 2008.
On May 26, 2009, he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Then on December 7, 2010, Chris accepted a plea deal and was convicted of cruelty to child with possible injury or death, while the other charges were dismissed, the court papers claim.
He was sentenced to 73 days in jail and four years of supervised probation.
Chris was to complete substance abuse counseling, maintain full time employment, submit to a property/person search and submit to chemical testing, according to court docs.
Chris could not be reached for comment.
Jacob wrote on Instagram in December regarding the “traumatic memory”: “It is often much easier to think about things than it is to talk about them.
“And so this disclosure has been delayed, but through that delay I have found the fortitude and words.
“As a child, after what I realize now was a long grooming process, I was molested by an executive field producer for Little People, Big World, Chris Cardamone,” Jacob alleged.
The activist went on to say he hopes Chris will “never be allowed around children again.”
He continued: “By revealing this, I may be more fully understood and my perspective on issues such as child sexual abuse, child exploitation, and the collateral costs of reality television may be received more clearly.”
Jacob then explained: “There is no inherent causal connection between reality television production and childhood trauma.
“We are still sprinting ahead with the enterprise deaf, dumb, and blind, asking for forgiveness later, instead of asking harder preliminary questions of ourselves.
“The profits were indeed sweet. The actual experience was more complicated.”
The youngest member of the Roloff family – who is married to wife Isabel Rock – then made it clear that his parents, Matt and Amy, are not to blame for the alleged incident.
He said: “It must be finally emphasized that all fault lies with the predator and no fault lies with any of my family members.
“I am certain that this is a positive moment for me, and another step toward a brighter future.”
TLC commented on the alleged abuse in a statement to Us Weekly that read: “TLC was just informed about an alleged encounter that occurred years ago involving a third party connected to the production of Little People, Big World.
“We are saddened and troubled by this very serious allegation, and TLC will work cooperatively with the authorities. Our main focus remains on supporting the Roloff family during this very difficult time.”
Producer Chris has not acknowledged Jacob’s claims after working on the Oregon-based show for three years.
The TV staffer began his career as a segment producer for one season of Big Brother in 2000 and went on to become a field producer on Parking Wars and Fast N’ Loud.
However, it appears Chris abruptly left the industry in 2014 and has not worked on a project since.
Jacob hasn’t appeared on Little People, Big World for a number of years and has slammed the series in the past.
He wrote on social media: “I get comments on here all the time about how people ‘miss me on the show’ or telling me I should ‘do a few more episodes’ with the family; I’m posting this to say that that will never happen.
“I have felt and observed over the years of the ‘crew’ is to preserve their job and preserve the ratings, which is up to you to be right or wrong.
Most read in Entertainment
“For me, noticing how the agenda of the crew doesn’t work well with the health and happiness of our family is what made me decide quite a while ago that I could not be a part of it as soon as I was able.”
Little People, Big World has remained a TLC hit since it first premiered in 2006.
It centers around the Roloff family: Matt, Amy, Zach, Jeremy, Jacob and Molly.