Police described him as a “predatory sex offender” as an English court heard testimony from officers and victims. Antony Jones, 50, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to 15 counts of indecent assault on a child under 14, seven of inciting a child under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency, and five of making indecent photographs of children.
Jones had a previous indecent assault charge that did not result in a prison sentence, which is why he continued to volunteer as a Boy Scout leader, where he assaulted and sexually abused young boys.
In sentencing Jones to prison, Judge Christopher Critchlow pointed out that Jones began abusing boys again as soon as he completed probation after his earlier conviction. “It’s a heavily aggravating feature of this case that you have that previous conviction and that you were treated leniently by the court by being given probation. Nothing you can do can turn the clock back on the effect it’s had on these boys. You must realize the seriousness of this sort of offending. The courts are seeing more and more of this type of case coming to light,” Judge Critchlow said.
One can only imagine the suffering that could have been spared if the court had imposed a stricter sentence after Jones’s original conviction in 1991. Likewise, one can only wish the Boy Scouts had removed Jones from all contact with Scouts in 1991.