Victim: ‘My soul has been crushed’; judge sentences man who pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a minor
Saying “the psychological impact on the victim is great,” a Washington County judge Thursday sentenced a Claysville resident to a total of 5 1/2 to 11 years in prison on five counts of sexually assaulting a minor.
John Thomas Jones, 64, of Claysville, was ordered to report to county jail Jan. 2, for transport to a state prison.
He is currently free on bond.
The victim reported the crimes, which occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, to state police in 2016, turning over as evidence text messages exchanged with Jones.
“There’s a law in Pennsylvania that says the first 10 years of my life do not matter,” the victim told Judge Gary Gilman in court Thursday, regarding his inability to file a civil suit because of the statute of limitations.
“My innocence doesn’t matter because years have gone by on the calendar. Why is there a law that specifically protects pedophiles in Pennsylvania? Where is the law that protects rape victims? My soul has been crushed.”
The prohibition from filing a civil suit due to the statute of limitations means Pennsylvania “should be called the land of the free to rape children,” the victim said.
Jones, who was seated, stared downward during the reading of the victim’s impact statement.
The victim’s spouse tearfully addressed the court about the pain they have both experienced.
Jones, reading from a single sheet of yellow legal paper, expressed his regret.
The defendant’s attorney, Christopher Blackwell, noted that by entering a guilty plea in September, his client kept the victim from having to testify at a trial. He also portrayed Jones as a victim of childhood sexual abuse.
Deputy District Attorney Jerome Moschetta asked the court to keep in mind’ “the protection of the public” in sentencing Jones.
Jones pleaded guilty in September to five counts of committing involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a victim who was under age 16 and, prior to that, a victim who was under age 13.