Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader/ex-teacher accused of having sex with student

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COVINGTON — A Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleader was indicted Thursday for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a student when she was a teacher at Dixie Heights High School.

A Kenton County grand jury indicted Sarah Jones on first-degree sexual abuse. She was also indicted on a charge unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited acts. The charges are felonies that are each punishable by up to five years in prison.

Her mother Cheryl Jones was indicted on a charge of tampering with physical evidence in her daughter’s case. Cheryl Jones, the principal at Twenhofel Middle School in Independence, expressed surprise when informed by a reporter of her indictment. She referred all questions to her lawyer. The tampering charge is also a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The lawyer, Charles T. Lester Jr., confirmed he was representing Cheryl Jones, in addition to her daughter, but declined to comment. In a written statement released later, Lester said both women will be pleading not guilty.

“Sarah has maintained her innocence. The indictment of her mother is completely baseless,” the statement noted.

Both women were booked into Kenton County jail on Thursday. Cash bonds were set at $50,000 for Sarah Jones and $30,000 for Cheryl Jones. The daughter and mother are scheduled to be arraigned April 2 before Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe.

Kenton County School District Superintendent Terri Cox-Cruey placed Cheryl Jones on administrative leave upon learning of the indictment. She said she had not been aware that Cheryl Jones was under investigation.

Sarah Jones, who is team captain of the cheerleading squad, resigned Nov. 30 from Dixie Heights in Edgewood where she taught freshman English for about five years. Jones cited “personal reasons” in a one-sentence resignation letter. She was 26 years old.

Cox-Cruey said she also didn’t know there was an investigation of Sarah Jones until the day the teacher resigned. Cox-Cruey said she didn’t have an opportunity to question Sarah Jones or conduct an internal investigation.

She emphasized that the indictments stem from a police investigation that, for the most part, was kept secret from the school district.

The board that certifies teachers in Kentucky said its disciplinary proceedings against Sarah Jones would likely be held in abeyance pending outcome of the criminal case. A spokeswoman for the Educational Professional Standards Board in Frankfort said they did not have an open case against Cheryl Jones, but the felony indictment would likely trigger one.

The board issues and renews certification for all Kentucky administrators and teachers. If there is a complaint against a teacher, it goes through the board, which has the power to revoke or suspend certification.

When the existence of the criminal investigation of Sarah Jones became public in December, her attorney at the time, Eric Deters, went on his radio talk show and the Internet to defend his client.

“Sarah denies it completely and apparently the quote, un quote ‘victim’ denies it and is not cooperating … and his parents are upset Sarah is having to go through this which is not usually the case in these situations,” Deters said in December.

Lester, the Joneses’ current attorney is a partner in Deters’ law firm. Deters is serving a suspension from the practice of law in Kentucky for 180 days, or less, according to the state bar association’s website.

Deters also represented a former Dayton High School teacher who was found not guilty of first-degree sexual abuse. Nicole Howell, who was 26 at the time, was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old football player four or five times at her MainStrasse apartment.

Howell’s case was one of the first to be prosecuted under a more-stringent state law that makes it a felony for a person in authority to have even consensual sexual relations with someone under 18. In all other instances in Kentucky, the age of consent is considered to be 16.

Sarah Jones gained national attention in 2009 when she sued online gossip site TheDirty.com and its operator, Nik Richie, after unflattering pictures of her appeared with allegations that she’d had sex with Bengals players and had two sexually transmitted diseases. The photos and comments had been provided anonymously.

Her case is being watched closely by First Amendment and technology experts after U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman ruled that TheDirty.com and Richie were not shielded from liability. The decision, issued in January, was seen as a departure from numerous other rulings protecting website operators who display defamatory third-party content.

TheDirty.com has appealed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, and Sarah Jones has gone on TV shows from “20/20” to “Anderson Cooper 360” talking about the embarrassment and public scrutiny she faced after the online postings.

Sarah Jones claimed the school district had to block the website because so many students were viewing the site on school computers. The high school principal at the time even reviewed security camera footage after one post on the website alleged Sarah Jones was having sex in her classroom, The Enquirer previously reported.

Bengals’ spokesman Jack Brennan said “the club is aware of the situation, and it’s an ongoing process to collect the information that can guide appropriate actions as warranted. At this time, we are guided by our general policy that it’s not appropriate to comment on legal matters yet to be resolved.”

He added that tryouts and auditions for the 2012 squad are yet to begin.