A boxing coach who sexually assaulted a stranger was a wannabe actor who had appeared on Hollyoaks and touted himself as playing a good villain.
Daniel Jones was jailed for 16 years yesterday after luring a woman into his house on the premise of helping his injured dog before sexually assaulting her.
He then trapped a female police officer in his living room as she tried to rescue his victim in July last year.
READ MORE: Boxing coach lured woman into his home with pug to sexually assault her
It has now emerged that, as well as running his gym and boxing business, the 47 year old had in fact been pursuing acting in the years running up to the pandemic.
He had a number of roles as an extra on TV shows like Hollyoaks and ITV drama Paranoid.
In his IMDB profile, Jones’ build is described as lending itself to “henchmen, security guards and villains”.
The profile reads: “Having spent several years working in security management, and then owning his own security company, and boxing gym. Daniel was inspired by the many famous actors he would meet and a few years later and after some soul-searching his artistic nature guided him into acting towards the end of 2008.
“Due to his physique, 5'10 and 185 Pounds, Daniel tends to be offered the roles of henchmen, security guards and villains which includes appearances in Channel 4's prime time show Hollyoaks in 2016, and Channel 4's gathering time in 2010. and the ITV Drama Paranoid in 2016.”
It appears that Jones' roles were mainly as extras and he had pursued acting less in the years immediately preceding the pandemic.
Instead, he had focused on his gym and coaching business, Bespoke Bodies.
The court heard the coronavirus lockdown had a devastating impact on his business when gyms were forced to close, putting significant strain on his mental health
Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said: “He was unable to continue training when the lockdown happened.
“That had a catastrophic effect on the gym and started to impact massively on the defendant.”
While the court heard Jones had previously suffered with some mental health issues and drug use, this escalated as the pandemic wore on.
At this point, he then began to try to set up a business selling cannabis oil to supplement his income but also began to take DMT, a psychedelic drug.
Evidence provided in court indicated this was a catastrophic decision, with psychiatrists saying the drug was not an appropriate way of dealing with his mental health issues.
Sourcing the drug off the dark web, people around Jones began to notice his mental state deteriorate.
While he reported feeling happier and healthier, his family members became increasingly concerned by his erratic behaviour.
In a bizarre incident just before the attack, the court heard that while at a swimming pool, Jones told family members he could swim underwater indefinitely without breathing.
Despite this, there was little to suggest Jones, who had no similar previous convictions, would launch what a judge ruled was a planned attack on a stranger in the middle of the day.
While his neighbours thought he was not in a good mental state, they apparently described him as "daft as a brush" rather than a violent threat.
Yet standing outside on the street and behaving so erratically that members of the public called the police, Jones drew the attention of a woman after saying his dog had been hit by a car.
In a conversation which his victim later told police was “very persuasive”, Jones convinced her to come to his home to help him call a vet as he was distressed.
However, once through the door he immediately attacked her, tearing off her clothes and submitting her to a terrifying sexual assault.
When police, who were responding to earlier calls about Jones’ behaviour, arrived at his home, he dragged one officer into his living room, blocked the door and threatened to kill her.
He also ripped off her body worn camera before she managed to escape and the 47 year old was arrested.
The judge in his case, Recorder Ian Unsworth, QC, said Jones posed a significant risk to women and that without the proper support he could offend again.
He said Jones “heaped humiliation” on his victim during a “brutal, ruthless and sustained assault” before targeting a lone female police officer.
Jones was sentenced to 16 years in prison, with a further eight years on licence.
