The ice cream truck driver from Aurora who was convicted of flashing a small child on his route two years ago was sentenced Thursday to a jail term and ordered to undergo specialized probation for sex offenders.
Douglas R. Jones, 48, of the 100 block of Middle Avenue, Aurora, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Robert B. Spence to 30 months of specialized sex offender probation, according to the office of the Kane County State's Attorney.
Jones is also to serve 15 days in the Kane County Jail. He will serve his jail time on the weekends.
A Kane County jury convicted Jones in January for one count of sexual exploitation of a child, a Class 4 felony.
Jones was working on an ice cream truck June 25, 2007, in Sugar Grove when a customer, who was with his three-year-old son, observed Jones' genitalia hanging out of the bottom of his shorts.
At the time, Jones was a substitute teacher in the Aurora East school district but was not allowed to continue his role following the arrest, according to district officials.
Jones also had been elected to the Kane County Regional School Board.
School officials said at the time of Jones' arrest that he had passed previous criminal background checks.
Some of the provisions of specialized sex offender probation include counseling, polygraphs, prohibition of possessing pornography, random forensic examinations and no unsupervised contact with children.
He is also prohibited from living, working or loitering near a school, park, playground, library or any other place primarily used by children under age 18 and must maintain a daily activity log as to whereabouts at all times.
Jones must register as a convicted sex offender for the next 10 years, and the state will seek to have Jones' teaching certification revoked.
Judge Spence stated that he was troubled that the offense was against a stranger and a very young child.
The judge also stated that he believed, based on a court-ordered report, that Jones was a moderate risk to re-offend and that the jail term was necessary to remind Jones that he must "fully participate and cooperate" with the terms of the probation.
He also warned that he was prepared to resentence Jones to prison if he violated any term of the probation.
