Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones has been indicted after allegedly having sex with a student when she was a high school teacher. (From Cincinnati Enquirer)
Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY
A former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader acknowledged to a Kentucky court Monday that she had a sexual relationship with one of her high school students, but will not have to serve jail time nor register as a sex offender under a plea deal, WCPO-TV reports.
Sarah Jones, 27, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse, a misdemeanor, after prosecutors dropped felony charge of first-degree sexual misconduct, 9 News reports.
During the hearing, the former English teacher at Dixie Heights High School in Covington admitted to having a romantic relationship with a 17-year-old student, which included a "sexual relationship and sexual intercourse," WCPO reports.
A second felony charge of unlawful use of electronic means -- texting -- to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activities, was dropped in favor of a misdemeanor charge of custodial interference.
WCPO-TV reports that Jones will serve a total of five years probation. She would have faced a five-year prison term on the original charges.
Her mother, Cheryl Jones, also accepted a deal in which she pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence, her attorney Eric Deters tells 9 News.
Cheryl Jones acknowledged in court that she advised the teen victim to "get rid of the phone" on which incriminating texts had allegedly been sent.
Sarah Jones still has a pending civil lawsuit against the gossip website TheDirty.com after it posted comments about her sexual behavior in 2009, The Enquirer reports.
In a 2010 interview with The Enquirer, Jones, who had defended herself against allegations in the website, said she used the post as a "teachable moment" after her students started looking it up on the Internet and asking questions.
"It was then I decided I had nothing to hide," she told The Enquirer. "There is nothing I need to back down from."
USA TODAY