This image was uploaded to the Virtue in Radiance — Fine Art by Sean Jones Facebook page on Feb. 3, 2024. (Facebook)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Air Force officials are reviewing murals and other artwork at the home of U.S. Forces Japan after community members identified pieces allegedly created by a former airman convicted of child sex offenses.
The review comes months after former Tech. Sgt. Sean D. Jones pleaded guilty in August to sexually abusing a child over a seven-year period. He was sentenced to 50 years in military prison, forfeiture of pay and benefits, and reduction in rank to E-1.
“We are tracking reports of a connection between a recently convicted service member and some wall murals in base facilities,” Capt. Emma Quirk, a spokeswoman for Yokota’s 374th Airlift Wing, told Stars and Stripes in a March 25 email.
Jones was convicted of offenses committed between December 2014 and December 2021 in Japan and Arizona, according to Air Force records.
In an Oct. 20 memo to the military judge, Col. Jennifer Powell, USFJ commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost wrote that Jones’ conduct “constitutes a gross violation of both the law and the fundamental principles of human decency” and is “utterly reprehensible.”
Comments on an unofficial Yokota community Facebook page called on the base to remove murals attributed to Jones, with some noting his work decorated squadron buildings and a base chapel.
The Air Force has not said how many murals are under review or what standard will be used to decide whether they are removed.
Images posted publicly to a Facebook page under Jones’ name appear to show artwork in multiple Yokota facilities. One post shows a mural of Mount Fuji and a rising sun emblem that the page says was painted in the Airmen Ministry Center’s common room. Another appears to show a mural of mountains and pagodas in a building used by a mobility squadron.
This image was uploaded to the Virtue in Radiance — Fine Art by Sean Jones Facebook page on Sept. 28, 2021. (Facebook)
Other images depict Gundam-style robots, samurai, torii gates, Japanese landscapes, a C-130J Super Hercules and a CV-22 Osprey, with captions indicating the works were painted on base. One image shows a patch design for an EC-130H Compass Call crew chief.
This image was uploaded to the Virtue in Radiance — Fine Art by Sean Jones Facebook page on June 27, 2018. (Facebook)
“We are identifying which murals on base were created by the former member and will take appropriate action,” Quirk said.
