West Midlands Man Jailed For Eight Years After Admitting Sexual Offences

Specialist lawyers have revealed their hope that the sentencing of a former theatre company director who admitted offences related to the abuse of two boys will encourage those affected by similar problems to speak out.

Ian Jones, 51, from Lower Gornal, was jailed for eight years last week after he pleaded guilty to several charges including inciting a child to become involved in pornography and attempting to engage in sexual activity.

The Express and Star reports that Jones had threatened that he would drop one of the boys from his company if he did not have sex with him, while he paid another to send him naked pictures.

One of the boys told his father about what was happening and the latter then informed the theatre company in July 2015. They subsequently alerted the police and also sacked Jones.

News of the sentencing has been welcomed by specialist lawyers in Irwin Mitchell’s Abuse team, who have described the case as yet another important example of victims finally getting their voices heard.

Luke Daniels, a Partner and expert in abuse cases at Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office, said: 

Expert Opinion

“There have been a number of high-profile cases of abuse in the news in recent years, with such issues often encouraging people who have faced similar ordeals to come forward and speak out about what they have been through.

“Sadly this is yet another case in which a person has abused their position of trust to take advantage of others and every effort must now be made to ensure lessons can be learned so that the same problems do not happen again.

“It is also vital anyone affected by abuse, either from this individual or others, is able to access the care and support they need to begin to come to terms with their ordeals and move forward with their lives.” Luke Daniels - Partner