Disgraced actor Jeffrey Jones makes rare public appearance after child porn scandal

Disgraced actor Jeffrey Jones has made a rare public appearance more than 20 years after his infamous child porn scandal.

The “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” actor, 78, appeared on a panel with several of his former co-stars at The Hollywood Show, where they discussed the iconic 1986 film.

Discussing the cult classic, in which Jones played high school principal Ed Rooney, the actor revealed that he no longer lives in Los Angeles, Calif., though didn’t disclose why.

“I moved to live in the desert. I didn’t want to be in LA anymore, but I got my family here, and so little kids get old fast. I’m driving back and forth,” he said.

“I’m getting a place now in LA I’ve given up because I can’t keep going back and forth from Burbank to the desert.”

The “Beetlejuice” actor also talked about working with legendary director John Hughes, who died in 2009 at age 59. 

“He entertained,” Jones said of Hughes, adding that he was collaborative.

“Ed is trying to look into the house, and there was a window with a hose bed. So the shot was simply me standing on the hose bed trying to look into the window to see if I could find Ferris,” he said of his character’s embarrassing moments.

“So I went to the ground people and borrowed a shovel, and they had some peat moss, and I turned it into a swamp because I had nothing else to do. So it wasn’t a plot point, particularly, it was just an attention to detail. That was the kind of thing that John liked.”

Jones added that Hughes always stuck to his vision.

“Actually, John wanted what he wanted, and he got it,” he went on. “But usually it was a fight. I mean it oftentimes was a fight because there was time and budget to consider, and John didn’t really pay much attention to that.”

The panel also featured actors Cindy Pickett, known for portraying Ferris’ mom, and Jonathan Schmock, who played the Maitre D’ at Chez Quis.

Jones had a colossal fall from grace in 2002 when he was arrested on charges of soliciting a minor for nude photos and possession of child pornography. 

He pleaded no contest to soliciting a minor and prosecutors dropped the child pornography charge.

The actor was sentenced to five years of probation, one year of psychological counseling and two years of drug and alcohol abuse counseling.

As part of the deal, he was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

“I am sorry that this incident was allowed to occur,” he said at the time. “Such an event has never happened before and it will never happen again.”

However in 2004, Jones was arrested once again for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved to Sarasota, Fla., and again in 2010 when he moved back to LA.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 250 hours of community service, in addition to three years of probation.