A transgender convicted sex offender who was due to attend a parole hearing has been found dead in a prison cell, days before the hearing that could have led to their release into the community.
Benjamin Charles Jones, 47, had recently been sentenced after following a young female tourist through Sydney’s CBD and attempting to rape her in October 2024.
Jones was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for the attack, with a minimum term of two years.
After receiving a 25 per cent discount for an early guilty plea, along with credit for time already served, Jones became eligible for parole on November 21. The parole hearing had been scheduled for November 12.
However, Jones was found dead at Cooma Correctional Centre on October 30. The NSW State Parole Authority was notified a week later.
A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said no one else was involved in the death.
‘On Friday 30 October 2026, a 49-year-old died at Cooma Correctional Centre,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) and NSW Police are investigating.
A transgender convicted sex offender who was days away from a parole hearing has been found dead in a prison cell
Jones, who used she/they pronouns, had recently been sentenced for attacking and attempting to rape a female tourist in October 2024. Jones was captured on CCTV shortly before the attack
‘Any death in custody is immediately reported to the NSW Coroner and subject to a compulsory public inquiry.’
Jones, who identified as transgender and used she/they pronouns, had previously been jailed for attempting to rape a woman who was walking home from dinner in Melbourne in 2021.
Jones had also served seven years in prison in Germany for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl. After being deported to Australia in 2018, Jones was placed on a child sex offenders register, news.com.au reported.
CCTV footage from the October 2024 incident showed Jones following the 31-year-old tourist through Sydney’s CBD after she left a nightclub.
The court heard Jones followed the woman through Hyde Park before dragging her into a secluded area near St Mary’s Cathedral and attempting to rape her.
Jones allegedly forced a plastic object into the woman’s mouth to muffle her screams, then tried to remove their own clothing and hers.
‘I want to f*** you, just let me f*** you,’ Jones told her.
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The woman escaped during the struggle and sought assistance from people nearby.
CCTV footage from the October 2024 attack showed Jones following the 31-year-old tourist through Sydney’s CBD after she left a nightclub
Jones was later arrested after DNA was found beneath the woman’s fingernails and on her clothing.
Jones pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault without consent and one count of stalking.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said the attack had destroyed her sense of safety. Before the assault, she had felt able to walk freely without fear or intimidation.
‘I chose not to tell my close family members, including my parents and grandparents, because I did not want to place a burden on them that they could not cope with,’ she told the court.
The court also heard Jones had been released into the community just weeks before the Hyde Park attack after breaching reporting obligations, despite police warning that Jones posed a ‘significant risk’ to the public.
According to court documents, Jones delayed telling police about moving from Victoria to NSW.
Jones also gave police false information about their new living arrangements.
‘Since arrival in NSW, the accused has been difficult to locate and reported not to have a mobile phone,’ court documents stated.
Jones had been eligible for parole from November 21
Jones received a 12-month community corrections order for breaching the reporting conditions.
During the recent sentencing for the October 2024 attack, NSW District Court Judge Troy Anderson took Jones’ mental health difficulties, drug abuse and reported threats from other inmates into account.
Since their arrest, Jones had spent almost two years in protective isolation because of threats from other prisoners. The judge said that circumstance meant any period of imprisonment would ‘weigh more heavily’ on Jones.
‘It is certainly a difficult sentencing exercise given the appalling nature of the conduct itself. But the subjective case of the offender is powerful,’ Judge Anderson said when making Jones eligible for parole from November 21.
The parole hearing had been scheduled for the following Thursday.
