Defendant Acquitted in Series of Rapes

A computer firm owner who was acquitted of rape and kidnapping charges said Friday that he was “wrongfully accused” by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

“They wanted to go ahead and prosecute me no matter what the truth was,” John Gordon Jones said during a press conference outside the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles.

A jury deliberated for 15 days before finding Jones not guilty Thursday, his attorney said. He was released after spending more than two years in jail.

Defense attorney Milton Grimes said his client is considering suing the district attorney’s office for malicious prosecution.

The district attorney’s office is disappointed in the verdict, said spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. “There are nine women out there who we alleged were victims,” she said. “We feel very badly for them.”

Gibbons added that Jones’ allegations “are untrue.”

Jones was arrested in 1998 and released on bail. He was rearrested in 1999 when the district attorney’s office filed additional charges.

Prosecutors argued that he met women in Hollywood nightclubs, took them by limousine to his home in the Beverly Glen area and drugged and sexually assaulted them. Defense attorneys maintained that the sex was consensual.