Abington Police Chief addresses school resource officer’s arrest

Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy offered a public statement regarding today’s arrest of officer Jordan Jones.

Jones, a 29-year-old school resource officer at Abington High School, is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female senior at Abington. He faces felony charges of institutional sexual assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors, and has been placed on administrative leave with intent to dismiss per protocol.

Jones was appointed to the position of school resource officer in 2021 and was hired by the Abington Township Police Department in 2017.

“As your Chief, I cannot find the words to accurately convey the pain that this betrayal of trust has caused so many, not the least of which is our victim in this case. These allegations and the subsequent arrest of Jordan Jones are profoundly disturbing,” Molloy wrote. “Jones’s behavior has brought immeasurable discredit to our organization and our profession, especially since he was in a position of authority and was entrusted to protect our students.”

Chief Molloy said that Jones’s actions are in no way a reflection of the Abington Township Police, and that the Department “remains committed to the strong partnership that we have enjoyed for decades with the Abington School District, and we will do everything in our power to regain the trust of the school community.”

Chief Molloy’s full statement:

On February 12th the Abington School District Administration notified our Department that a 17-year-old female student made allegations that School Resource Officer Jordan Jones has been having an inappropriate sexual relationship with her. Once we received this information, we immediately notified Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and Detective Bureau, as is the protocol when investigating serious allegations against one of our officers. The assigned County Detectives concluded that there was sufficient evidence to charge Jordan Jones. Montgomery County Detectives took Jones into custody at the Abington Township Police Department this morning, February 13th. He was then transported to Montgomery County Correctional Facility to be processed and arraigned. Jones was charged with several felony counts of Institutional Sexual Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Corruption of Minors. Jordan Jones was also stripped of his badge and gun and placed on administrative leave with the intent to dismiss. This remains an active investigation by the Montgomery County Detectives Bureau, and any information that the public may have related to this should be directed to them.

As your Chief, I cannot find the words to accurately convey the pain that this betrayal of trust has caused so many, not the least of which is our victim in this case. These allegations and the subsequent arrest of Jordan Jones are profoundly disturbing. Jones’s behavior has brought immeasurable discredit to our organization and our profession, especially since he was in a position of authority and was entrusted to protect our students. Jones’s actions do not reflect the great work that the men and women in the Abington Township Police Department do every day. Each Abington officer understands how this incident impacts our profession. The Department remains committed to the strong partnership that we have enjoyed for decades with the Abington School District, and we will do everything in our power to regain the trust of the school community.

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Photo: nasro.org