Sarah Jones, former cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals and one-time high school teacher in Kentucky, has plead guilty to sexual misconduct after charges were brought against her for having a relationship with a 17-year old student.
Jones said at one time that she was innocent of any wrongdoing, and that although the boy was indeed a student, he was not her student. Rather, she said, he was a friend of the family that she’d become close with. Several steamy text messages ended up being damning for the 26-year old, however, and she plead guilty on Monday.
“People don’t know the real me. There’s blogs and postings out there that I have slept with numerous people. I married my high school sweetheart,” said Jones. “I just asked the general public to maybe hold their judgment a little bit longer until the truth comes out…I read on a blog that I was the female [Jerry] Sandusky. To read those things and not be able to comment, not be able to stick up for myself is not fair.”
She admitted while on the stand that she began a romantic relationship with the boy, who is now 18, when she was in a position of authority. She has been engaged in a lawsuit against a website which she says published vile lies and rumors about her; Jones is seeking $11 million in damages, but the suit has been put on hold until after the charges against her are resolved.