After School Counselor Accused Of Child Molestation Takes Stand

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CORAL SPRINGS (CBSMiami) – An after school counselor accused of molesting three young girls took the stand at a trial Wednesday afternoon.

Michael Jones, 25, could go to prison for the rest of his life if he's convicted because one of the girls who was 8 years old at the time.

Coral Springs police arrested him in November 2011. He had been working for a company that provided aftercare for students at Forest Hills Elementary.

On Wednesday, prosecutors played a videotaped interrogation of Jones who was taken in for questioning.

When first confronted with the accusation, Jones responds, "whoa, whoa, whoa," indicating surprise.

Then as the questioning went on, Jones admits to the molestation – telling the detective that "he made a mistake."

The officer then asked, "How did her pants get down?"

"I asked her to pull them down," he said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

But Jones took it all back Wednesday afternoon when he took the stand in his own defense.

He told the jury that nothing ever happened.

When asked if he had ever touched any of the girls inappropriately, Jones replied "no" each time.

He said he never even picked up any of the children because it wouldn't have been right in the course of his duties.

His attorney asked Jones to explain to the jury why he didn't deny the allegations during the Coral Springs police interrogation.

"Because he said if I deny it, I have a chance of being labeled a pedophile," he said.

The jury will get the case Thursday morning after the prosecutor and defense attorney do their closing arguments. There should be a verdict.