A former Texas deputy fire chief has been sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating a violent sexual assault against a woman he knew.

Joel Jones, 54, formerly a Deputy Chief with the Everman Fire Department near Fort Worth, pled guilty to aggravated sexual assault. A Tarrant County jury subsequently assessed his punishment at life imprisonment following a sentencing hearing that detailed his role in arranging the attack.

Fire Law Blog covered the case in April 2025 after Jones was arrested on charges that he used a social networking app to recruit another man to sexually assault the victim. According to investigators, Jones communicated with Tobasia Griffiths through the app “Sniffies” and arranged for Griffiths to attack the victim, falsely representing that the assault was part of a consensual role-playing scenario. The victim denied consenting to any such encounter.

The assault occurred in February 2025. Investigators alleged that Jones provided instructions and information to facilitate the attack and paid Griffiths $100 through a digital payment service. Following the assault, police alleged that Jones attempted to portray himself as a concerned acquaintance while concealing his involvement in planning the crime.

Court records and evidence presented during the proceedings showed that Griffiths carried out the assault after being recruited by Jones. Prosecutors contended that Jones directed the attack and misled Griffiths into believing the encounter was consensual. Griffiths later pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault and cooperated with authorities.

Following Jones’ arrest in March 2025, the Everman Fire Department placed him on administrative leave. At the time of the arrest, he faced charges that included aggravated sexual assault, criminal solicitation of aggravated sexual assault, and criminal solicitation of aggravated kidnapping.

According to reports, the sentencing jury deliberated for approximately 20 minutes before returning a life sentence. More on the story.