Teacher accused of sexually assaulting girl told her it was ‘natural,’ she testifies
A female relative of a former teacher from Huntington Beach who is accused of raping her when she was 13 years old testified at his trial Tuesday that he told her what he wanted to do was “natural.”
Jeffrey Scott Jones, 56, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one felony count of continuous sexual abuse, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.
If Jones is convicted, he could face a maximum of 68 years to life in state prison.
“He said, ‘It’s natural,’” the girl, now 17, said Jones told her when he would touch her.
Jones, dressed in a pale blue dress shirt and black khakis, stared at the defendant’s table as the girl provided her account.
Before touching her, the girl said, Jones made sexual comments.
“He would say stuff that turned him on and I would get weirded out,” the girl said.
Eventually, the girl said, Jones beckoned her to a room where he touched her body.
When she resisted, she said, Jones told her, “It’s OK, just relax.”
According to Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown, the abuse began when the girl was in eighth grade.
At first, Brown said, Jones made sexual comments to the girl, making her uncomfortable, before progressing to inappropriate touching between Sept.1, 2012, and April30, 2013.
On May 4 and 9, 2013, Jones raped the girl, Brown alleged.
On May 10, the girl told a friend’s mother what happened, Brown said.
Police took the girl to a hospital for a rape exam, Brown said, and a month later determined that Jones’ DNA was a match.
Attorney Thomas Edward Welbourn, who is representing Jones, has described the girl as a troubled teen with a history of lying, especially to her mother.
Welbourn also has pointed to behavioral issues, saying the girl had been suspended from various schools on allegations of stealing.
By the end of the trial, Welbourn said, it will be clear that the girl cannot be trusted and the evidence compiled by prosecutors will not be enough to convict Jones.
Jones was a teacher for 27 years at Bell High School in Bell and Gahr High School in Cerritos, according to prosecutors.
The trial continues at 9a.m. Wednesday at Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.
Twitter: @benbrazilpilot
