August 29, 2022
(McKinney, Texas) – District Attorney Greg Willis announced that Mark Elliott Jones, 49, of McKinney, Texas, was sentenced to 35 years in prison without the possibility of parole for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. “It is a sad day in the community when we learn that a sexual predator has been abusing even one innocent child for years. But to learn that this predator sexually traumatized not one but two innocent children is simply unbearable,” added Willis after sentencing.
Jones sexually abused two children who he had ongoing access to over a period of several years. The two victims were 10 and 14 years old. One of the children’s parents found a letter their child had written to God in which she disclosed the abuse. The child’s parent reported the information to law enforcement, whose investigation led to the discovery of the second abused child.
McKinney Police Department Detective Zachary Craven investigated the case. The child was forensically interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County, where both children disclosed details about the ongoing abuse.
The jury found Jones guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child, which has a minimum punishment of 25 years in prison. Judge Andrea Thompson assessed punishment at 35 years in prison. By law, a sentence for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child is without eligibility for parole.
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Kim Kircher and Ashleigh Woodall prosecuted the case, assisted by District Attorney Investigators Kim Voigt-Eanes and Sam Selman, Victim Assistance Coordinator Casey Hendrix, and Legal Secretary Christy Ware.
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