Overview
- Jones, a former Durham County and Great Aycliffe councillor, was found not guilty on Friday after a four-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
- Prosecutors charged him over a public slap on a uniformed police officer’s bottom and an earlier allegation that he squeezed another woman’s breast.
- Jones accepted the slap happened but said it was a misguided joke done “in a Benny Hill way” with no sexual intent, and he denied the older allegation outright.
- The defence said the slap was a joke that backfired and questioned the credibility of the earlier claim, while the prosecutor argued both accounts showed boundary-crossing.
- Recorder David Gordon told the court the two complainants retain lifelong anonymity, and Jones said the 20-month case cost him re-election plans, work as a driver, and local charity roles.