Comic Book Writer Gerard Jones Arrested For Possessing Child Porn

[The Dark Knight]

This isn't good. It's revealed today that he has changed his plea to guilty, and admitted to downloading and sharing child pornography on YouTube.

The admission of guilt is enough for me. The charge has been levelled and he agrees with it.

Surprisingly, not only are some comics artists showing support for Jones for rehabilitation, a clinical psychologist called Jeremy Jones reckons Gerard's risk of re-offending is low.

What a copout. This reminds me of a joke kids used to play in school - punching each other in the arm and saying "forget about it, it's in the past." The crimes have been committed and they must be adequately punished.

There's no way around that.

[thecolorsblend]

Surprisingly, not only are some comics artists showing support for Jones for rehabilitation, a clinical psychologist called Jeremy Jones reckons Gerard's risk of re-offending is low.

What a copout. This reminds me of a joke kids used to play in school - punching each other in the arm and saying "forget about it, it's in the past." The crimes have been committed and they must be adequately punished.

There's no way around that.

As far as the comic pros supporting Jones, what I want to believe is they're sending him messages of encouragement. "Gerry, I love you, I'm your friend, but you're sick and you need therapy. You're doing the right thing by pleading guilty. Get help and know that I'll always be there for you."

But I look at some of the things comic pros support and I'm not so sure.

[The Laughing Fish]

He's now scheduled to be sentenced on July 10th.

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/08/gerard-jones-to-be-sentenced-after-pleading-guilty-to-child-pornography-charges-in-july/

[The Laughing Fish]

As far as the comic pros supporting Jones, what I want to believe is they're sending him messages of encouragement. "Gerry, I love you, I'm your friend, but you're sick and you need therapy. You're doing the right thing by pleading guilty. Get help and know that I'll always be there for you."

But I look at some of the things comic pros support and I'm not so sure.

For what it's worth, some of Jones's close friends in the industry, including Mike W. Barr, wrote letters of support before the plea change. None of them at the time believed, never mind suspected, he was a pedophile.

This is what James Hudnall had to say:

"I wrote that letter because, while I have never been a close friend of his, I have known and worked with Gerry for 30 years. We worked together at Viz and Malibu. He has never seemed weird or into kids to me. So that's what I said, basically. It's a real shame because he always seemed like a decent guy who loved comics. A real shame.

It may be hard for people to understand, but Gerry is nice guy, not creepy at all. Not someone you would think is like that. It was a real shock to many of us, but I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt unless they set off red flags. I have never seen him act raunchy or weird. He is very well mannered.

The whole thing is bizarre. He did tell someone I know that he was hacked and his computer was used as a server without his knowledge. That could be true. It would explain why he did something as stupid as posting porn on YouTube. He is not a dumb guy. All I know is it's a very sad state of affairs.

The presumption of innocence is a civil right. If he was shady in any way, I wouldn't have written that letter. But all the letter said is I have known him for 30 years and never saw him do anything that would make him look suspicious. I didn't lay on compliments or anything. It was fairly neutral but I have worked with the guy and have known him since we were both in our 20s. If I think they deserve it, I try to help out a friend.

Think of that what you will. If he is really guilty then the stain of this will ruin his life. I feel sorry for him.

Even if he's innocent, he's screwed. No one will trust him. It's easier for you to judge Gerry because you don't know him. If he really got off on that stuff, it sickens me, but it also makes me wonder whether he was abused as many abusers were. It's hard to explain, but the whole thing feels surreal to those of us who know him."

Source: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/02/letters-comic-creators-gerard-jones/

I understand that Hudnall doesn't want to condemn a friend. He still seems to be in a state of disbelief and tries to wonder what led to Jones doing what he did. God knows I never want to associate closely to somebody who is later revealed to be a monster.

But as you said it yourself colors, you got to think about the kids whose lives were destroyed too. And that in itself is a huge understatement.

[thecolorsblend]

Hudnall is touching on something I've seen bandied about by others. Basically in some off-the-beaten-path parts of the Internet, a new conspiracy theory seems to be bubbling up that "hackers" will infiltrate your system, plant a bunch of weird, creepy, evil stuff and then contact law enforcement about it.

The idea is this is a "funny prank". Or perhaps it's a devastating way of destroying an enemy. Or or or or or, so on and so forth. But the broad consensus seems to be that "The cops found evil child porn on his computer" is starting to become a bit too common an occurrence for some conspiracy-minded people.

Frankly I don't know what to think of that. All I know for certain is the cops claim they found child porn (which is evil) on his system and arrested him accordingly. There's a lot to be said for allowing the system to work and the truth to come out.

But if the truth is that Jones is evil, well, the system needs to force him to pay the heaviest penalty for his crimes.

[The Dark Knight]

I'm not doubting it can happen, but it seems like an all too convenient excuse. The thing with this type of explanation is that it can't really be proven. "Oh, the hacker didn't want to be caught so he didn't leave a trace". And so on. The accused is basically saying "just trust me, I didn't do it." When the charge is so serious, the accused can only create doubt in someone's mind that it *could* be possible they're innocent. There are instances where people have been framed, but it's extremely rare, and not played for simple laughs. If this guy is guilty, then he needs to be taken out of the system for a long time.

[The Laughing Fish]

I think Hudnall is in a state of denial here. Let's remember that awhile ago Jones has already admitted to the police to downloading and sharing child porn online, and now pleads guilty. Surely he would've stood his ground and maintained his innocence if he didn't do anything wrong.

[The Laughing Fish]

Jones has been sentenced to six years in jail. He'll be 66 years old by the time he gets out.

Source: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/08/15/gerard-jones-sentenced/