John Paul Jones - Pleads guilty to raping children

A Hamilton man avoided a trial that was set for today by pleading guilty this month to raping children and child pornography.

John Paul Jones, 48, was sentenced to 13½ years in prison following his guilty pleas.

The rape charges involved incidents with children ages 3 and 5; the pornography charges relate to images investigators found on his computer, said Jennifer Muench-McElfresh, a Butler County assistant prosecutor.

The images did not depict the rape victims, she said. After Jones is released from prison, he must register his address with law enforcement for the rest of his life because Judge Andrew Nastoff designated Jones a sexual predator.

Jones suffers from mental-health issues - including reports that he "hears voices" -- Muench-McElfresh said. But Nastoff ordered two evaluations and both found Jones was mentally competent to stand trial.