Serial offender went to prison for sexually assaulting women at home in East Wichita mall

A Wichita man convicted of sexually assaulting two women in Towne East Square and unloading groceries from a third woman’s car in a nearby neighborhood has been sentenced to seven years and 11 months in prison.

The assaults all occurred within a few hours on July 1, 2021, near Kellogg and Rock, Wichita police said.

Andrew E. Jones, 28, pleaded no contest March 9 to attempted rape, two counts of aggravated sexual assault and criminal threats, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. He was sentenced on Wednesday.

His court-appointed attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.

According to the release and court documents, Jones approached each of the women and grabbed them in a sexual manner.

In one of the cases reported at the mall, Jones grabbed the skirt of a woman who was entering the second-floor common area from the parking lot, according to an affidavit released in the case. In the other mall attack, Jones grabbed a woman from behind and stuck a hand down her shorts as she exited, the affidavit said.

Both attacks occurred shortly before noon.

Within hours, he attacked the woman while she was outside her East Morris home, the affidavit said. She too was grabbed from behind.

“The woman screamed for her husband, who chased the man before he stopped and pointed a knife at the man,” the DA’s office press release said.

Police caught up with Jones later that same day after an officer saw a man whose clothing matched that of the grabber, the news release said.

The officer pursued Jones “for more than a mile before entering a home in the 8000 block of E. Gilbert,” the release said.

“When the suspect threatened to shoot the officer, he (the officer) backed away. Other officers later entered the home and arrested Jones,” the release said.

Wichita police previously said Jones suffered from mental health issues and was the subject of mental health calls before the sexual assault and standoff.

In addition to ordering the prison term, Sedgwick County District Judge Faith Maughan told Jones on Wednesday that he would be subject to lifetime supervision and offender registration upon his release, the DA’s office said.

“After his release, the Department of Corrections must monitor him for the rest of his life,” the release said. “Jones is subject to conditions of release. If he violates these conditions he could be sent back to prison.”