Man sentenced to 20 years in kidnapping, sexual assault case

A 54-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to up to 20 years in prison, a dozen years after he was first charged with raping and kidnapping a woman.

Brian Jones originally faced nine felony counts, but on Sept. 12, the day his trial was to start, he took a plea deal.

As part of the deal, Jones entered an Alford plea to second-degree kidnapping, battery with intent to commit sexual assault and attempted sexual assault. An Alford plea means Jones did not admit guilt but acknowledged prosecutors could prove their case against him.

Prosecutors dropped six counts of sexual assault, court records show.

Defense attorney Joel Mann and prosecutors also agreed to a predetermined sentence of eight-to-20 years as part of the deal.

Jones was given credit for the nearly five years he already has spent behind bars. He could have faced up to 20-to-50 years in prison on the three counts.

In 1999, Jones was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman he had stopped to help on the side of the road. The woman, captive for days, escaped and was helped by a nurse driving down the road.

Court records show that after posting $250,000 bond in November 1999, Jones fled the country.

He was caught in Thailand and extradited back to the United States in December 2007.

Before his capture, Jones' case was featured on the TV series "America's Most Wanted."

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.