Actor Gets Probation for Inducing Boy to Pose Nude

Actor Jeffrey Jones, best known for his portrayal of a high school dean in the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” pleaded no contest Tuesday to inducing a 14-year-old boy to pose for sexually explicit photographs and was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Jones paid a Fontana boy twice to pose nude for photographs he took at his Hollywood Hills home, according to court records. During the sessions that began in 2000, Jones persuaded the boy, identified in court records as Steven C., to pose naked with a cowboy hat, a stuffed animal, and as an Indian.

With the parents of the victim watching, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Horwitz on Tuesday also ordered the 56-year-old actor to undergo a year of counseling, two years of drug and alcohol counseling and barred him from possessing pornography.

As part of Jones’ plea, Deputy Dist. Atty Deborah Knaan agreed to dismiss a misdemeanor charge of possession of child pornography against him. Knaan told the judge that Jones had already begun counseling.

“This concludes a really painful chapter in my life,” Jones said outside the courtroom. “I’m sorry that this incident was allowed to occur .... It will never happen again.”

The character actor, who played Winona Ryder’s father in the film “Beetlejuice,” refused to answer questions.

Prosecutors said the sentence was “a fair and equitable” resolution of the case. Jones faces three years in prison if he violates his probation.

“What we thought was of greater importance is that he’s going to have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life,” said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Lawyers for Jones said his crime never extended beyond photographs.

“He’s not accused of touching or having physical contact with any minors whatsoever. He didn’t do anything of that nature,” attorney Leonard Levine said.

“Yet these laws are very encompassing and they bring in a lot of people who, obviously, we feel are no more danger to society than you or I. But he will comply with the law and he will move on with his life,” Levine added.

Probation officials had recommended a suspended sentence and three years probation. According to a probation report, the victim told Fontana police he met Jones through another photographer. His uncle had taken him to the other photographer, who paid him to pose naked and sexually abused him, according to the boy.

Jones was arrested in November after a yearlong Los Angeles police investigation that involved him and actor Paul Reubens. The arrest came after search warrants were served on both actors’ homes. Reubens was never charged.

The city attorney’s office filed a misdemeanor charge against Reubens for possession of obscene material that improperly depicts a minor. He has pleaded not guilty and his attorney said the material is nothing more than vintage erotic art.