Jeffrey Jones Makes Rare Appearance After Child Porn Scandal, Says He Left L.A.

Jeffrey Jones made a rare public appearance and shared a life update — more than 20 years after a child porn scandal halted his personal and professional paths.

The actor, 78, participated in a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off panel at The Hollywood Show on Friday, June 6. There, he told the audience that he left Los Angeles.

“I moved to live in the desert. I didn’t want to be in L.A. anymore, but I got my family here, and so little kids get old fast. I’m driving back and forth,” said Jones, who famously starred in the comedy movie as antagonist Edward “Ed” R. Rooney.

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

Jones was joined on the panel by Cindy Pickett, who played Katie Bueller, and Jonathan Schmock, who played Chez Quis Maitre D, as they discussed the impact of Ferris Bueller. They also opened up about what it was like working with the late director, producer and writer John Hughes. 

The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!

When asked if Hughes — who died in 2009 at age 59 — was collaborative, Jones said, “He certainly was. Yes, he was. He entertained.”

Giving an example of the filmmaker being receptive to a change in a scene in the iconic movie that involved his character, the actor said, “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.”

“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,” he continued.

Still, Jones recalled that Hughes could often be a bit set in his ways.

“Actually, John wanted what he wanted, and he got it,” he said. “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.”

Schmock, 69, meanwhile, remembered that Hughes “was amazing to work with.”

“He was very improvisational, and he wanted to get the script that he wrote,” he said.

Pickett, for her part, shared that Hughes improvised the last lines of the beloved teen comedy. 

“The last line of the movie, ‘Life moves pretty fast,’ he just threw that in. It’s not in the original script. He just threw that in. So yeah, he had the best time,” she said.

Lyman Ward — who took on the role of Ferris’ dad, Tom Bueller, and is the ex-husband of Pickett — and Richard Edson, who played the garage attendant, were scheduled to attend the panel event, but did not appear. 

Despite Jones sharing his recollections about the movie and his relocation, he did not delve further into why he moved out of L.A.

In the years since his scandal, the actor has not appeared in many acting roles. He was notably absent from the 2024 Beetlejuice sequel, as his character, Charles Deetz, was killed off after being eaten by a shark.

In November 2002, Jones was arrested and charged with soliciting a minor for nude photos and possession of child pornography, The Los Angeles Times reported at the time.

He later pleaded no contest to soliciting a minor, and prosecutors agreed to drop the possession of child pornography charge in July 2003, according to the outlet.

Jones was sentenced to five years of probation, one year of psychological counseling and two years of drug and alcohol abuse counseling. He was also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and prohibited from possessing any pornography.

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

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In July 2004, Jones was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender in Sarasota, Fla., per the Herald-Tribune. The actor had moved to a different apartment and didn’t register within the required 48 hours of relocating.

Years later, in 2010, Jones was arrested again for failing to register as a sex offender, this time in L.A. He pleaded guilty that September, E! News reported, and was sentenced to 250 hours of community service and three years of probation.