Philly ward leader convicted of sexually assaulting a child resigns after campaign dustup involving DA Larry Krasner

A West Philadelphia Democratic ward leader resigned Sunday after his recent conviction for sexually assaulting a minor became a flashpoint in the district attorney’s race, resulting in a heated back-and-forth between two candidates.

At the center of the controversy is Stephen Jones, the Democratic leader of the city’s 52nd Ward, whose recent conviction burst into public view over the weekend after he oversaw a political event attended by District Attorney Larry Krasner, who is running for reelection. Krasner’s opponents accused him of knowingly seeking an endorsement from a sex offender that his own office is prosecuting — a claim the district attorney forcefully denied.

By the end of the day Monday, Krasner and his well-funded opponent, longtime Judge Patrick Dugan, were hurling accusations of dirty politics and portraying one another as liars as the campaign to be Philadelphia’s top prosecutor heats up.

The dispute stemmed from a meet and greet Saturday in Jones’ ward, which Krasner, a Democrat running for his third term in office, attended in an effort to seek the ward’s endorsement. The city party is not backing either candidate, meaning both are jockeying for endorsements in dozens of wards across the city.

Krasner said during a news conference Monday afternoon that he was unaware of Jones’ conviction when he appeared alongside him and a handful of other candidates for public office Saturday, citing his common name and saying he “made no connection between that and any of the 30,000 new cases we have every year.”

After the campaign event gained local attention from social media and news websites, Krasner called on Jones to resign.

But Dugan’s campaign said that it was improbable the district attorney would not have been aware of a sexual assault case against a longtime Democratic Party leader.

“Larry Krasner stood smiling beside a convicted child predator,” the Dugan campaign said in a statement. “Did he not recognize him? The DA in charge of every major case in this city failed to notice a politically connected sex offender standing next to him? Or did he know exactly who he was and chose to stand there anyway? Either answer should terrify you.”

Jones, 79, was charged in 2023 after a young girl told police that he had molested her. His first trial in May 2024 resulted in a deadlocked jury, according to court records. Prosecutors retried Jones in February, and he was convicted of aggravated indecent assault of a person under 13, unlawful contact with a minor, and related offenses.

Jones is free on bail and is scheduled to be sentenced in May.

The Dugan campaign said in a statement that Jones’ sentencing — scheduled for two days after the May primary — may be evidence of “a quid pro quo to let Stephen Jones wait for his sentencing at home in exchange for political support.”

In turn, Krasner accused Dugan of manufacturing a controversy through “wild and largely fraudulent allegations.” He said it’s standard for sentencing to take place 90 days or more after a conviction in sexual assault cases because defendants must undergo independent evaluations to determine if they are a sexually violent predator, a legal determination that can impact sentencing.

The district attorney also said his office requested that Jones’ bail be revoked prior to sentencing but that the judge denied that request. A transcript of that court proceeding was not available Monday.

“If I really was somehow in the bag with this man that I’m vigorously prosecuting every step of the way, why on earth would I seek to revoke his bail and put him in a jail cell?” Krasner said. He said Dugan’s campaign was engaging in “a sweepingly false, repeatedly misleading effort to corrupt an election.”

“We got justice,” Krasner said of his own office, “and you try to turn this into some cheap political football to benefit yourself.”

Dugan stood by his campaign’s statements and said Monday that Krasner had not offered “any empathy or compassion for the victim or their families having to be retraumatized from this evil act in the press and having to see a convicted abuser stand shoulder to shoulder with the very man elected to protect them.”

Krasner said Monday that he didn’t know Jones well before Saturday, and was searching the internet for a photo of him on the way to the event. Vincent Lorusso, an attorney for Jones, said his client “met Krasner for the first time on Saturday.”

Lorusso said Jones denied endorsing or even signing a petition for Krasner. Jones’ ward endorsed Krasner’s first run for reelection, in 2021.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the chair of the city’s Democratic Party, said he had been aware of Jones’ “legal trouble,” but said the details of the case were never brought to his attention until this weekend.

“We never had a problem of this nature,” Brady said. “A sex offender? As soon as I found out about it I called and told him he had to resign. We can’t have that.”

A party vote is scheduled for Wednesday to announce Jones’ successor in the 52nd Ward in Wynnefield, a post previously held by former Mayor Michael Nutter.

City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, the Democratic majority leader who is the chair in the 52nd Ward, is expected to replace him, Brady said. Gilmore Richardson could not be reached for comment Monday.