Sarah Jones, a former cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals, pled guilty on Monday to having sex with a former student while she taught at a high school in Kentucky. Jones pled guilty to sexual misconduct and custodial interference in Kenton County Circuit Court.
“I began a romantic relationship while he was a student and I was in a position of authority,” Jones said.
According to Jones, the relationship started in February of 2011 when the student was 17. She said they had sex, she lied to police about the relationship and that she sent the student explicit text messages. In 2008, the student was in Jones’ freshman English class. In 2010 and 2011, Jones served as the student’s peer tutor.
By accepting the plea agreement, Jones avoided jail time and was instead given a sentence of five years of diversion. She also will not be forced to register as a sex offender. Jones will have to undergo drug tests and report to a probation officer because of the diversion sentence. Prosecutors working the case said they wanted to make a deal with Jones because the student and his family did not cooperate with them and instead were taking Jones’ side.
“We feel that it is a just and it is a fair result,” prosecutor Sara Farmer said. “It’s certainly difficult when a victim and his family don’t cooperate by not providing information, but it makes our case a lot harder when they’re actually proactive for a defendant, and in this case, the family was more than supportive of the Jones (family). They were proactive for them.”
Jones resigned from Dixie Heights High School in November and was indicted in March. Jones also resigned from the Bengals cheerleading squad after four years towards the end of 2011. Jones was willing to plead guilty because the judge on the case was not going to prevent the texts sent by Jones to the student from being entered into evidence in a trial.
“They’re embarrassing,” Eric Deters, defense attorney, said. “They were steamy.”
Deters pointed out that Jones and the student, who is now 18, left the courtroom together. He said that the two would discuss their relationship Friday on the ‘Today’ show and ‘Dateline.’ Jones is not going to try out for the Bengals squad anymore and is actually working in Deters’ office as a legal assistant. She has said that she would like to become a lawyer, going as far as studying for the Law School Admission Test.