A Lancaster Township man charged last month with raping a 10-year-old boy and exposing himself to another child is now charged with raping a woman who is nonverbal and has autism after investigators said they found video of the assaults on his phone.
Lancaster Township police charged Steve Anthony Jones Jr., 42, with rape of a mentally disabled person, four counts of aggravated indecent assault and related offenses on Monday.
According to charging documents, while police were searching Jones’ phones after his arrest, they found videos of Jones using his phone to record himself sexually assaulting the woman.
Police contacted Jones’ employer and showed them still pictures of the woman’s face and they were able to identify her as a 28-year-old woman who does not speak and has autism, according to charging documents. The employer isn’t identified, but the charging documents state Jones worked there as a caretaker and the employer described the woman as a patient.
At the time, she was living in an apartment in East Hempfield Township and Jones was working the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift and would arrive while she was asleep. Jones’ job included cleaning the apartment and being present for any emergencies, and the assaults occurred when he was working alone, according to police.
Documents do not say where Jones worked or if the woman lived with anyone else in the apartment.
Police said Jones’ employer was unaware of the assaults and has been cooperating with Lancaster Township police’s investigation and that the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services is also investigating.
Jones has been held at Lancaster County Prison without bail since his arrest in May on the other charges and is awaiting a June 26 preliminary hearing in those cases. He was scheduled for a preliminary arraignment Monday afternoon before District Judge Brian E. Chudzik on the latest charges. Online court documents do not list an attorney for Jones.
