A Napa County sheriff’s deputy is on paid administrative leave after prosecutors say he secretly recorded and shared nude photos of his estranged wife for years, with one explicit image allegedly ending up on the couple’s 13-year-old daughter’s phone. The accusations have sparked a criminal case and a separate internal review inside the sheriff’s office.
The deputy, 43-year-old James Robert Fotherby, joined the Napa County Sheriff’s Office in 2022 and worked as a courtroom bailiff. He entered a not guilty plea in Napa County Superior Court on December 3, 2025, and remains on paid leave while the sheriff’s office and prosecutors run parallel investigations, according to the Napa Valley Register.
Investigators say this was not a one-off mistake. Citing a Napa Police incident report and a criminal complaint described in local coverage, authorities allege Fotherby used a hidden camera as early as January 2022 to secretly record the woman in a bathroom, then later distributed intimate images without her consent. Police say copies of the images were recovered from his phone under a search warrant and from the woman’s phone with her permission.
Charges and prosecution
Fotherby faces misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy and distributing an intimate image to cause emotional distress. According to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office, each count carries potential county-level penalties and fines.
Prosecutors filed the complaint on Oct. 28 and later updated it in late 2025. They have also alleged a special allegation that Fotherby targeted his spouse and are seeking probation as part of the requested outcome, according to reporting by The Press Democrat.
Legal context
Under California law, nonconsensual sharing of sexually explicit images is recognized as a crime and is often charged as a misdemeanor when prosecutors believe they can show intent and emotional harm. Penalties can include county jail time, fines and probation, depending on the circumstances.
For readers who want to dig into the legal fine print, plain-language explanations of the statute are available online. One overview of how Penal Code §647(j)(4) is commonly applied in practice is provided by Minc Law.
What’s next
The case remains active in Napa County Superior Court, and the sheriff’s office says it will complete its internal review before deciding on any employment action. A judge has issued a protective order that requires Fotherby to stay away from his estranged wife, their daughter and the woman’s workplace, and future court dates have not yet been publicly scheduled, according to The Press Democrat.
