San Diego

A single father who adopted two small boys, only to be convicted of molesting them and two neighborhood boys, received a 15-year state prison term Wednesday.

Mark Edwin Jones, 39, of Mira Mesa received the term from San Diego Superior Court Judge Milton Milkes, who denied Jones’ attorney’s request for a new trial.

Jones, who has a U.S. security clearance because of his work on defense projects, maintained that he is innocent despite his conviction Feb. 25 on 12 child molestation counts.

Jones is a former teacher and former president of a Mira Mesa homeowners association.

“I simply did not molest anyone. . . . It is impossible to prove innocence in a situation where four young boys suddenly accuse me of molesting them,” Jones was quoted as saying in the county Probation Department report.

Milkes said the turning point in the trial was Jones’ own testimony in which he said he slept with his adopted boys, showered with them and took them on trips.

“When you put the puzzle together . . . you have the characteristics of a pedophile. The evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict,” Milkes said.

According to the probation report, the oldest boy, 13, was placed in a psychiatric ward of a hospital for six weeks after he and his brother were removed from the home because of the allegations.

The oldest boy and his 9-year-old brother have since been placed in separate foster homes and are receiving therapy.

The parents of the neighborhood children appeared and asked for the maximum sentence, which was 28 years. The Probation Department had also asked for a 28-year term.

Jones’s attorney, Gerald Blank, had maintained that the boys were sexually active with each other and included Jones in their descriptions to cover up their own activities. Blank had argued that all the accusations were false.

Jones claimed the boys followed the instructions of the prosecutor in testifying against him because they thought they might have to live with him again.

A request to have Jones free on bail while he appeals his conviction will be heard Tuesday.