California teacher cuts his throat in court after sexual assault conviction

SANTA ANA, Calif., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- A man slashed his throat in a Santa Ana, Calif., courtroom, moments after he was convicted of sexual assault charges, local law enforcement said.

Jeffrey Scott Jones, 56, a former high school English teacher from Huntington Beach, Calif., cut his throat with a straight razor Wednesday, immediately after he learned jurors found him guilty of sexually assaulting a female teenage relative of his girlfriend. He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, said Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Jones was out on bail during his trial.

"Right after the judge asked if we wanted jurors polled, both attorneys said 'no,' and then he took a razor out of his left pocket and slashed his throat. His head hit the table and I thought he fainted, but then I saw the blood and the razor on the table." Senior Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown said.

It is unclear how Jones brought a razor through security checks to the eighth-floor court room. Lt. Mark Sticher of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said there will be an investigation into how Jones "was able to have [a razor] in court, and provide answers to that."

Jurors deliberated for two hours before arriving at a guilty verdict on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of continuous sexual abuse. Prosecutors said Jones engaged in sex with the girl in May 2013, and molested her continually from September 2012 through April 2013. Evidence was presented at the trial that Jones previously had sexual relationships with two underage students and later married each of them. He faces up to 66 years in prison.