Sarah Jones Case: Bengals Cheerleader Pleads Not Guilty To Sex With Student

Sarah Jones appeared in court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to having sex with a former high school student of hers.

The captain of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad -- the Ben-Gals -- pleaded not guilty today to charges of having sex with a student while she was a high school teacher.

Sarah Jones, 26, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a senior at Dixie Heights High School in Kentucky, where she taught until she resigned last November, according to MSNBC.

The details of the accusations are unclear, but Jones was indicted last week on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and unlawful use of electronic devices. Her mother, Cheryl Jones, was also indicted on accusations that she tampered with physical evidence in her daughter's case.

Sarah Jones abruptly quit her teaching job on Nov. 30, citing "personal reasons," WLWT reported. Dixie Heights Superintendent Terri Cox-Cruey said that the resignation came at the same time as the first police probe.

"The day the police openly investigated, that was the same day she submitted her resignation," Cox-Cruey told the station, adding that she was surprised to hear about the allegations.

"No parents or students ever approached me in all the years she worked for the district with any concern," she said.

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• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  Sarah Jones, 26, has pleaded not guilty to charges of having a sexual relationship with a senior at Dixie Heights High School in Kentucky, where Jones was a teacher until last November. Jones is captain of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad, the Ben-Gals. (US Presswire)

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  Sarah Jones, 26, is the captain of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad. On April 2, 2012, she pleaded not guilty to having sexual relations with a student of Dixie Heights High School, Kentucky, where Jones used to be a teacher. (US Presswire)

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  Sarah Jones, 26, a former teacher at Dixie Heights High School in Kentucky, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student. Jones was indicted in March 2012 on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and unlawful use of electronic devices. (US Presswire)

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  Sarah Jones (R) and her mother, Cheryl Jones, sit in Kenton Circuit Court on April 2, 2012. (AP Images)

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  Sarah Jones, 26, appeared in court on April 2 and pleaded not guilty to having sexual relations with a former student. (AP Images)

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  Sarah Jones leaves Kenton Circuit Court on April 2, 2012. (AP Images)

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  In a Monday, July 30, 2012 photo, Sarah Jones, former Dixie Heights High School teacher and Cincinnati Ben-Gal cheerleader, arrives at the Kenton County Justice Center, in Covington, Ky., for a motion hearing on charges of first degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual contact with a student when she was a teacher. Her mother, Cheryl Jones, is charged with tampering with evidence. (AP Photo/The Enquirer, Patrick Reddy) NO SALES

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  In a Monday, July 30, 2012 photo, Sarah Jones, former Dixie Heights High School teacher and Cincinnati Ben-Gal cheerleader, goes through security after arriving at the Kenton County Justice Center, in Covington, Ky., for a motion hearing on charges of first degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual contact with a student when she was a teacher. Her mother, Cheryl Jones, is charged with tampering with evidence. (AP Photo/The Enquirer, Patrick Reddy) NO SALES

• Sarah Jones Sex Scandal

  In a Monday, July 30, 2012 photo, Sarah Jones, left, former Dixie Heights High School teacher and Cincinnati Ben-Gal cheerleader, and her mother, Cheryl Jones leave Kenton Circuit Court after a motion hearing on charges against Sarah of first degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual contact with a student when she was a teacher. Cheryl Jones is charged with tampering with evidence in the case. (AP Photo/The Enquirer, Patrick Reddy) NO SALES

Gannett reported that the police investigation was, for the most part, kept secret from the school district.

Sarah and Cheryl Jones held hands as they pleaded not guilty in court today. The victim's family was in court to support Jones and deny that the abuse happened, according to MSNBC.

"The student denies it. The parents of the student are upset that this has gone where it has gone. They don't have anything bad to say about Sarah. Sarah denies it," said attorney Eric Deters in December. "There's no victim. There's nobody saying, 'Hey, this happened.'"

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Comments

[creekside22]

03:09 PM on 12/08/2012

She is so homely - don't know why she thinks she is IT. No morals, no class, LOW class.

[Counterglow]

11:47 PM on 05/30/2012

Given the views of the student AND HIS PARENTS...why are the authorities wasting time and taxpayer dollars on this? What a ridiculous waste of resources!

[jiclark]

07:10 PM on 04/20/2012

How she ever became a cheerleader is beyond she has an ugly face!!

[Ry Bread]

11:14 PM on 04/16/2012

Lucky student :P I never had any hot teachers... a few subs were cute though :P

[ProgressiveCDN]

12:33 PM on 04/12/2012

As a male, I must say that NO high school senior would have anything negative to say about hooking up with the head of an NFL Cheerleading squad. So, even if she did do it, I can't imagine the "victim" would be crying about it or doing anything to threaten their "relationship". lol... It's no surprise the boy's family is siding with the Jones'
Or maybe she's actually telling the truth and nothing has happened...

[CarrionQueen]

11:27 PM on 05/25/2012

This is what I'm saying!! The kid had to be at least 17. I doubt he was emotionally harmed in anyway. The parents don't seem to have a problem with it. What are they doing? Besides wasting time and taxpayer money. Lord knows there aren't enough real criminals out there to deal with.

[finitz]

06:42 PM on 04/11/2012

Some teenage guy had thing for Sarah....the teen spread some rumor about having sex with her & that's why she left for a different job...Stupid kid's fantasy...destroys the woman's Career!

[Glass Cannon]

05:14 PM on 04/10/2012

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Teaching is a dangerous profession these days. A few bad apples have spoiled the barrel, and sometimes when they are not even really bad apples.

[Bryan Reed]

05:48 PM on 04/06/2012

Seems that Ms. Jones won a hefty lawsuit a couple of years ago. Thinking maybe the parents of the boy thought they might be able to get some of that money in an out of court settlement. Could be motivation there for the parents to make the accusation, whether it was true or not, if they thought they could get paid.

[CarrionQueen]

11:29 PM on 05/25/2012

Did you miss the part of the article that said-"The student denies it. The parents of the student are upset that this has gone where it has gone. They don't have anything bad to say about Sarah. Sarah denies it," said attorney Eric Deters in December. "There's no victim. There's nobody saying, 'Hey, this happened.'"- The parents like her and have not accused her of anything. It says they were upset that it went so far as for her to get into trouble.

[Brett Murray]

02:52 AM on 04/06/2012

Think about this for a second. Big picture. Why would a investigation be conducted? Because there is evidence that one may have been committed. And you can be sure it is not circumstantial. Also would it also be safe to assume that the during this months long investigation the prosecution had known that the alleged victim was going to deny it and refuse to cooperate? It didn't stop them from bringing the charges 3 counts I believe. The players in this or any of us can question all day long if a crime has been committed but at the end of the day it's the State of Kentucky and the evidence vs Ms Jones and her mother not this alleged victim vs her. So what do you think does this get it's day in court of not?

[ellexmarie]

10:28 AM on 05/02/2012

Investigations are conducted all the time. It does not mean there is something illegal going on. Finding that out is the purpose of conducting the investigation.

You cannot be sure of anything if you don't know what the evidence is.

No it is not safe to assuming anything. Haven't you heard the saying about how assumptions make an *** out of "u"? Google it.

We also have trials in this country so that a jury can determine guilt or innocence. Unless you are privy to some special information about this situation that none of the rest of us have, please stop pretending to be the jury. You would be surprised how many charges are brought against people with little or no evidence to support it.

[CarrionQueen]

11:34 PM on 05/25/2012

LOL, I just said the same thing assumptions in a comment on another article.

[Brett Murray]

03:15 PM on 05/02/2012

Ellex
I am not trying to imply anything except that it would make logical sense that some kind of evidence exists. Even the judge agrees or no indictments would have been handed down, no bail, no GPS tracker. Would you not agree? And whatever that evidence is it must be strong enough for the prosecution to not only proceed but also to consider that the alleged victim will likely not be testifying.
It would be a huge embarrassment for the prosecution to go to court with circumstantial evidence.
I fully agree with you, often charges are brought with little evidence but many times that evidence is in the form of testimony which can be cross examined. This is physical evidence of text messages and some sort of effort to destroy that evidence which stands apart form testimony. But you are correct if they really have nothing Ms Jones has very good grounds for a counter suit.
Thanks for replying.

Brett

[Ian Does]

12:05 PM on 04/05/2012

haters going to hate. you have a beautiful teacher coming in attracting the attention of the students probaly because shes fun, shes a cheerleader which amounts to probaly a high energy personality and kids these days like that in a teacher whether they are a man or woman, they like to have thier education process be exciting and memorable. my guess is they other teachers are trying to set up her up because they are jealous

[jiclark]

07:13 PM on 04/20/2012

if she was not attractive to you would you make the same comments?

[CarrionQueen]

11:37 PM on 05/25/2012

But that's the point of his comment. She is beautiful and a cheerleader. They have to know how to excite a crowd and have a high energy level. I don't take it as a sexist comment, maybe I'm wrong.

[49tales]

12:36 AM on 04/05/2012

this makes no sense, she says it didn't happen,the student says it never happened, his parents are supporting this teacher....

how can they charge her?

sounds like someone, somewhere was jealous of this beautiful woman and spread malicious lies about her

[ellexmarie]

10:37 AM on 05/02/2012

The prosecutor does not need a complaining witness in these types of cases. Consider rape or child abuse cases where for many reasons (fear of retaliation, embarrassment, etc.) the victim may decide they do not want to pursue the case. They may even change their story to say it never happened. If the prosecutor was unable to continue the case, some dangerous people would get away with their crimes.

I am not at all suggesting that Ms. Jones did anything. I'm just answering the question. The prosecutor must feel that the boy and his parents are lying. The child may not want people to know what happened or be seen as a victim. His parents may be trying to protect him or he may not have told them the truth. We just don't know, but because of the psychological harm done to victims of sexual abuse, it's critical in these types of cases that prosecutors are able to pursue them with or without a complaining witness.

[Rick Ayers]

11:35 PM on 04/04/2012

You know, all of these stories that we've been seeing about young, twenty-something and thirty-something year old teachers, having sex with students who are in their teens, makes me wonder this: What in the hell is going-on, with the young men, of their own age-group? Is it, that these twenty and thirty year-old guys, are not performing well, in the bedroom? Or, is it, that these women, want to play the "student-teacher" role, to the max? I mean, I'm in my early Sixties. But, when I was in my 20's, 30's, and even 40's, I was wearing-out any females, that I was dealing with. Or, at least if I wasn't, they sure were complaining to me, about it. Nor, to my knowledge, were they going out, messing around with teenage boys. What a Freaky world we live-in, nowadays.

[Limpbaugh]

09:30 PM on 04/05/2012

This one might not have ever happened. The kid, his parents, and her all say it didn't. But one reason why it is more common now might be the quality of people who become teachers. Most are still good people and pillars of the community, but years ago teaching was about the best job a woman could get. There are a lot more opportunities for women now. The cream of the crop doesn't necessarily go in to teaching these days.

[CunningStunts]

09:51 AM on 04/16/2012

Your last sentence is spot on. And then, factor in that these young females are not much older than the boys they are teaching, and are around them all day. The attractive ones are going to get the lion's share of the attention, and it's no surprise that at some point, one of these young men is going to get as far as they do, if they are persistent enough.

[jiclark]

07:19 PM on 04/20/2012

what do you mean "cream of the crop" physically attractive? Smart? good athlete? You may be thinking with something other than your brain

[Guncache]

09:23 PM on 04/04/2012

Please take advantage of me. I am willing to sacrifice myself to have sex with you. I'll "take one for the team."

[DocEagle]

09:12 PM on 04/04/2012

Age of consent in Kentucky is 16. But there is also a law that says a person in a position of authority cannot have sexual relations with anyone under 18.

[Stuart Klugler]

05:19 PM on 04/04/2012

What did she teach?