11 May 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A judge has sentenced a Wichita man to almost nine years in prison for several sexual assaults in and near Towne East Square.
Andrew Jones, 28, was arrested after the incidents on July 1, 2021. A woman at Towne East said she had been grabbed. As officers took the report, they received another call from the mall about another woman being attacked.
Within 20 minutes, police received a third call involving sexual assault in a nearby neighborhood. A woman was unloading her groceries from the car when she said a man came up behind her and sexually assaulted her. This caused her to fall to the ground and scream, which alerted her husband inside the house. The husband then pursued the suspect, where a knife was drawn, and 911 was called.
An officer found a man matching the description and chased him over a mile. The suspect entered a home in the 8000 block of East Gilbert. Investigators said he threatened to shoot the officer, and the officer backed off.
Negotiators were called in, and the suspect eventually gave up.
District Attorney Marc Bennet said Jones pleaded no contest in March to attempted rape, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, and criminal threat.
District Judge Faith Maughan sentenced him to 95 months in prison this week. The judge also ordered Jones to serve lifetime post-release, which means the Kansas Department of Corrections will keep track of him for the rest of his life. If he violates any conditions of his release, he could be sent back to prison.