Sgt. Chad A. Jones, 35, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three children, including a young family member he preyed upon for four years. (Joshua Magbanua/U.S. Air Force)
A Fort Bliss, Texas, soldier has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three children, including a young family member he preyed upon for four years.
Sgt. Chad A. Jones, 35, pleaded guilty to 50 counts of sexual abuse of a child, one count of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecent communication with a child during a court-martial last week. He initially faced 64 counts of sexual abuse, according to the Army court docket.
Jones will serve his time at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Upon release from prison, he must register as a sex offender.
Military judge Lt. Col. Rick Mathew also sentenced Jones to reduction in rank to E-1 and a dishonorable discharge from the Army, according to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, which prosecuted the case.
“While the conviction and sentencing of Sgt. Jones cannot repair the damage caused by years of sexual abuse, abuse of power and betrayal, we hope that they are steps in the right direction and enable these victims to begin their individualized healing journeys,” said Capt. Christopher Deisenroth, the lead prosecutor. “In the end, justice was only possible in this case because of the unparalleled bravery of three young girls who stepped forward.”
Jones abused the first victim, a family member who was under the age of 12 when it began in February 2021, and continued through February 2025, according to prosecutors. The abuse occurred while Jones was assigned to Fort Carson, Colo., and Fort Bliss. When he was away for training or deployed, Jones continued the abuse through messaging apps.
He found the other two children online in June 2024 and in November 2025, according to prosecutors. He gained the victims’ trust by initially acting as a role model or confidant, then requested sexual images or asked sexual questions.
The second victim reported Jones, and the Army Criminal Investigation Division began investigating. While investigators interviewed the first victim, she disclosed the incidents of sexual assault and sexual abuse.
In addition to interviewing all three victims, agents obtained evidence such as recordings, photos and messages extracted through phones belonging to Jones and the victims.
Capt. Fox Whitworth, a prosecutor, told the court during sentencing that Jones “knew he was trespassing upon a child’s innocence” and that the accused “not only defiled and perverted the family bond, he gloried in doing so.”
