Guilty of Teen’s Rape, Ex-Teacher Slits Own Throat in Court

An ex-teacher from Huntington Beach, Ca., sliced his throat in an Orange Country courtroom Wednesday after the jury found he was guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl four years prior.

Jeffrey Scott Jones, 56, picked up a small razor blade and sliced his throat, according to Jones’ attorney, Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown and the LA Times. Brown said a sheriff’s deputy then tried to restrain him while he screamed and bled heavily from the neck. His attorney, Edward Welbourn, said he saw his client’s head hit the defense table.

Jones, who is currently being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, was convicted of two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one felony count of continuous sexual abuse. The girl in question is now 17 years old and she was not one of his students, although he was employed as a teacher at the time of the assaults.

Judge Steven Bromberg scheduled Jones’ sentencing for Nov. 4. He faces a maximum of 68 years to life in state prison, Orange County district attorney’s office confirmed. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating how he smuggled a razor through the court’s security checkpoint.

[LA Times]