Former ice cream man gets probation in exposure case

A former substitute teacher convicted of exposing himself to a toddler while working as an ice cream man in Sugar Grove was sentenced Thursday to specialized sex offender probation, officials said.

A Kane County jury found Douglas R. Jones, 48, of the 100 block of Middle Avenue, Aurora, guilty on Jan. 13 of sexual exploitation of a child.

On Thursday, Judge Robert B. Spence sentenced Jones to 30 months of specialized probation and 15 days in jail, which he will serve over several weekends.

The state's attorney's office said the special probation requires Jones to receive counseling and therapy, and to avoid pornographic materials, unsupervised contact with children and he cannot live near a school, park, playground, library or any other place primarily used by children.

Police said Jones was selling ice cream in Sugar Grove's Walnut Woods subdivision for an Aurora-based vendor on June 25, 2007, when he exposed himself to an approaching 3-year-old boy. The incident was reported by the boy's father, and Jones was arrested minutes later near a neighborhood swimming pool.

Jones, who had no prior criminal history, drove a truck for Eskimo Ice Cream at the time of his arrest and previously worked as a substitute teacher in East Aurora School District 131.

He faced up to three years in prison.