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Nancy Grace
Bengals Cheerleader Charged with Child Sex
Aired April 03, 2012 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. A gorgeous NFL Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader and a high school teacher apparently teaching a lot more than reading, writing and arithmetic.
Bombshell tonight. The newlywed bride of just nine months tonight charged with first-degree sex abuse and using text messages to lure and assault an underage boy student. In a stunning twist, a mother and daughter indicted, the cheerleader/teacher`s own mother, a middle school principal herself, police says tampering with evidence. An NFL cheerleader/high school English teacher turned alleged child sex predator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH JONES, ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULT: I`m an NFL cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals. This will be my sixth season with the Bengals and I`m currently captain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They stood in the courtroom united not only as mother and daughter but by matching pleas of not guilty.
JONES: My passion is teaching kids. I wake up every single day looking forward to going to work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Former teacher and Bengal cheerleader Sarah Jones walked out of jail with her mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accused of having sex with a student.
JONES: One day, I was this credible teacher that they looked up to, that they listened to. The next day, I was this slut to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her mother, Cheryl Jones, who is a principal, charged with tampering with evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rumors swirled on a gossip Web site that she slept with several Bengals players.
JONES: I think I hit rock bottom when I heard a student say that she would never learn from a slut like me again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that she also had sexually transmitted diseases.
JONES: You have sex (INAUDIBLE) and you are a slut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dirty.com is a first-ever reality Internet site.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) apologize to this girl.
JONES: This is not a battle between me and him. He didn`t post me on there, but it`s his Web site. I didn`t ask for this. I`m not a celebrity. And the fact that he can do this to people is completely -- it`s delusional to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. That was high school teacher, Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones with Anderson Cooper, and you saw her on ABC`s "20/20."
Bombshell tonight. A gorgeous NFL cheerleader, high school teacher apparently teaching a lot more than reading, writing and arithmetic.
To you, Michael Board, reporter, WOAI. She is charged with first- degree sex abuse and using electronic equipment to lure and assault a boy student. What happened?
MICHAEL BOARD, WOAI: You know, Nancy, in 2010, she won an award for her work in the classroom. It was called the WOW Award. Well, a lot of people are saying more than wow now. These allegations that she was taking those pelvic thrusts and gyrating hips from the sideline and moving them into the classroom, allegations this 26-year-old was having an illicit affair with a 16-year-old, one of her own students!
GRACE: OK, stop right there. Stop, stop, stop. Michael Board, I heard the first play on words with "pelvic thrust" and "illicit sex." OK, let me just straighten something out. This is a sex abuse charge on a child. So if it would help you for the rest of this evening, in your mind, imagine her as a man, and the victim in this case as a little girl, all right?
BOARD: Well, Nancy...
GRACE: Maybe that will help you not use double entendres. OK, now, let`s take it from the top, Michael Board, WOAI. What happened?
BOARD: She is a former teacher, also a former lead cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals. The allegations are, is that she was carrying on an illicit affair over several months with one of her former students.
What`s amazing about this case -- she pled not guilty to those charges of first-degree sexual abuse. The alleged victim in this case, that 16- year-old boy, and his family were both in the courtroom. They support her in this, Nancy. They`re big backers of her. They say that both families are friends in this case.
Just amazing to see that level of support in the courtroom over an alleged victim like this.
GRACE: You know what? You`re right. You`re very right. It`s very unusual to have the victim`s family supporting the defendant in a case.
You are seeing not only a cheerleader but the captain of the Cincinnati Bengals, an NFL team, cheerleader, a well-respected English teacher, a high school English teacher now charged with a slew of felonies in connection with alleged sex with a student.
Out to Jim Hannah reporting -- joining us live from Kentucky, with "The Kentucky Enquirer." Jim Hannah, I`m a little surprised that the boy`s mother is supporting this girl.
JIM HANNAH, "KENTUCKY ENQUIRER" (via telephone): I think that`s what makes this case stand out. Not only is (INAUDIBLE) you know, and that the mother of -- of the cheerleader is also charged.
GRACE: You`re taking a look right now at video of Sarah Jones. Let`s go back and see that Anderson Cooper clip, Dana.
Clark Goldband, explain to me what she was saying on Anderson Cooper`s daytime show. At the time, she was very angry that a Web site called Thedirty.com had apparently outed her, or claimed that she was sleeping with the Bengals players themselves and that she had an STD. She was extremely angry about it, and she filed a lawsuit and spoke on Cooper. Let`s take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: One day, I was this credible teacher that they looked up to, that they listened to. We had class discussions. They learned from me. The next day, I was this slut to them. I had a student come in and say, I cannot come in your classroom and learn because you have had sex (INAUDIBLE) and you`re a slut.
What you don`t understand is that Bengals cheerleading is one of those things I do for fun. It`s a hobby. But teaching is my ministry. I wake up every morning looking forward to going to work because I love teaching those kids that I get to see every day.
People read it, they automatically -- you know, you see the stereotypical cheerleader. She`s an NFL cheerleader for the Bengals. This must be true. This must be attached with her.
I had to go in and basically explain to my 15-year-old kids that I do not have STDs, that I have not slept with an entire football team. You know, things that -- we should be reading Shakespeare. You know, like I said, teaching is my job that I love more than anything, and when that`s completely taken out from you in one posting from someone anonymously -- I thought about it and prayed -- who would want to do something like this to someone?
It`s very frustrating that when you work on your reputation and someone takes that from you. It`s just very unfair that they can hide behind a screen. And I do not know who posted it. And I don`t need to know who posted it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Did I just hear her say teaching is her ministry and she`s been praying about all the evil things that were posted about her on Thedirty.com? Clark Goldband, did I just hear that?
GOLDBAND: You did, Nancy. And Sarah Jones also goes on to say that she can use this situation as a teachable moment, in one interview with a local newspaper, because she reiterates that, again, these are not kids in elementary school that are 5 or 6. These are high schoolers.
And Nancy, according to reports, it got so bad in that school district that they took the measure to actually ban this Web site because so many computers at that school and that school district were accessing the Web site.
GRACE: With me right now, speaking of the Web site, Nik Richie. This is the first interview Mr. Richie has given since Jones`s indictment. He`s the founder of Thedirty.com. He was sued by Sarah Jones. Did you actually issue an apology?
NIK RICHIE, FOUNDER, THEDIRTY.COM: Well, I reached out to her, Nancy, through her legal -- our legal reached out to her legal, apologizing. And we pulled the post off the Web site, but this was more of a monetary and fame factor for her. And they went forward and tried to get money out of our company, and...
GRACE: How much did they -- how much did they sue you for, Nik?
RICHIE: $11 million, Nancy.
GRACE: And this is because -- this is because you claim that she slept with some Bengals players, correct? Or somebody posted it on your Web site.
RICHIE: Yes, it`s all third-party generated. We didn`t create the content. This was coming from her peers, her friends, her people who knew her. And what I`m being sued for now is for my statement, which was, Why are all teachers freaks in the sack, which is my broad opinion of the situation.
GRACE: Well, as a matter of fact, Mr. Richie, I taught high school English while I was waiting to get into law school. Now, what did you say about all high school teachers?
RICHIE: I said it was kind of a sarcastic joke. It was, Why are all high school teachers freaks in the sack, which I apologized for after the fact, Nancy.
GRACE: Now, Mr. Richie, what is the status of the lawsuit now? Because at first, her lawyers sued the wrong Web site. They sued Thedirt.com and got a default judgment. Then they went, Uh-oh, it`s Thedirty.com, and they had to go back to court. So what`s the status of the lawsuit right now?
RICHIE: Well, right now, we`re appealing the lawsuit, and the judge, Berlsman (ph), he just granted a stay. This whole thing is a mess now. You know, it`s -- I was being bashed about judging her character and saying that, you know, she was a fake person, and now all this stuff that`s coming to light in the media and the news, it`s kind of vindicating us.
GRACE: OK. Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Jennifer Smetters, family law attorney, Hugo Rodriguez, defense attorney, former fed with the FBI, Anne Bremner, high-profile attorney out of Seattle, also handled the Mary Kay Letourneau case.
All right, Anne Bremner, isn`t the truth a complete defense, the last I checked?
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The last you checked is right, Nancy. It is an absolute defense. But the question is whether or not they can show it`s true, especially with somebody`s, you know, private sleeping habits. So that will be a contest (ph) fact-specific (ph) for the court.
GRACE: OK, please, please, please put the lawyers back up again. Anne Bremner, of course they`ll have to prove it. It will be an affirmative defense, like insanity or self-defense, where you say, Yes, I said it, but it`s the truth, so I am excused for saying it.
And the simple way -- I mean, when you claim someone has an STD, a sexually transmitted disease, under long-time case law, that is a de facto defamation if you comment on someone`s chastity or a sexually transmitted disease.
However, if it`s true -- and I have no reason to think that portion is true here -- then that can easily be shown at trial. But Anne Bremner, what about the sleeping around part? Don`t you think -- I mean, come on! She`s been indicted for sex with a student.
BREMNER: Right.
GRACE: And one of the prongs of a defamation case, like slander or libel, is it hurts your reputation. She`s going on trial for texting and I guess sending sexy pictures of herself to a student. It`s a felony. She would be a sex predator.
So who cares if she slept with a Bengal. That`s the least of her problems.
Let me go to you, Smetters. What about it? You`ve got to show that whatever Nik Richie said actually -- or was allowed posted on his Web site hurt her reputation. How can it hurt her reputation? She`s charged with being a child sex predator.
JENNIFER SMETTERS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: That`s the ultimate ding on her reputation. Right now, she`s chasing other issues, when really, the biggest defense here that she needs to defend herself from is this most heinous charge against her, and her mother for covering up evidence.
Bottom line here is -- Nancy, I also was a substitute teacher when I was in law school at 25. This is immoral, if these charges are true.
GRACE: So according to you, Nik Richie, that would make Jennifer Smetters -- what did you say? What did you say? A freak in the sack. OK, Jennifer Smetters, I`ll let you mull that over in just a few moments.
Hugo Rodriguez, defense attorney, former fed with the FBI, this is like saying, you know, an armed robber is a litterer. I really don`t think that`s going to hurt his reputation. Do you understand what I`m saying, Hugo?
HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I do.
GRACE: So she`s got a lot of nerve taking this guy to court.
RODRIGUEZ: Well, but it`s her only avenue available at the present time to sort of angle at (ph) her defense in the criminal case. She`s not going to be able to do that in a criminal case, but I think now she`s using this as the opportunity to negate (ph) herself.
GRACE: To Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert. It`s a mother/daughter indictment, which is extremely rare, Ben. The mother, her mother, who is a high school principal, is apparently charged with tampering or destroying evidence.
Now I`m guessing that has something to do with BlackBerrys or e-mails or cell phones. Weigh in, Ben Levitan.
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT (via telephone): Well, that`s exactly right. I mean, as we`ve learned on this show, Nancy, you just can`t -- you can`t do anything on a cell phone without leaving your little digital footprints all over the place.
This is going to be very clear-cut that these text messages were sent back and forth between Miss Jones and the high school student. It`s in three places. It`s on the victim`s phone. It`s on her phone. And it sits in the cell phone system.
Now, what Mom Jones is accused of is probably erasing that information to protect her daughter. She`s smart enough to know that. Well, I`ll tell you, that is why the police are holding the phone. They`re probably getting DNA off the keys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: NFL cheerleader scandal...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charged with having sex with a minor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They claim they are not guilty, but both Sarah Jones and her mother, Cheryl Jones, will be wearing an ankle bracelet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accused of having sex with a student.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just surprising. It`s sad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Allegations surfaced of a possible sexual encounter with a student.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she`s great. She`s always nice to us, and she`s fair.
JONES: One day, I was this credible teacher that they looked up to, that they listened to. We had class discussions. They learned from me. The next day, I was this slut to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accused of having sex with a student...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A former co-captain of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleaders...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah Jones is the former Bengals cheerleader and former Dixie Heights teacher.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charges of having sex with a former student when she was a high school teacher...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. A Bengal cheerleader with the NFL, the captain of the cheerleader squad, and most disturbingly, a high school English teacher now charged with being a sex predator, facing 10 years behind bars.
And in a stunning twist, when she and her mother, who is also charged in a related offense of obstructing justice or getting rid of evidence, tampering with physical evidence -- that`s what it is -- in the courtroom, the young boy, the student`s family was there supporting the teacher defendant. What`s that all about?
We are taking your calls. Straight out to Owen LaFave. You all recall Debra LaFave, convicted of raping a 14-year-old student. He is producer of "After School."
Dana, do you have the photos of Owen LaFave`s wedding to Deb LaFave? She was a beautiful bride. You thought you were happily married.
All right, I hope you`re sitting down, Owen. Hello. It`s good to see you. Her husband of just nine months is in the middle of an annulment. They have only been married nine months, Owen.
How shocked do you think her husband is?
OWEN LAFAVE, EX-HUSBAND OF DEBRA LAFAVE: Oh, my Go! I`m sure he`s crushed, Nancy. And of course, every time I hear one of these stories, I do look for parallels. And you`ve got an attractive teacher. She`s a well respected English teacher, which mine was, as well. And of course, the newlywed element and -- I can just imagine the heartbreak and just, you know, embarrassment of it all. My heart goes out to him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: My parents had to watch me break down and physically not be able to go to work because of these things. I work my butt off to have a great reputation and a good character, to provide the girls and the boys that I teach this strong foundation. Some of my students don`t have that stability at home. They have a bad home life. You know, we see these people, that sometimes teachers are the only solid foundation in their life, and that`s what I am to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. Ruh-roh! That is YouTube video of Sarah Jones talking to Anderson Cooper in his daytime show. Well, she`s under indictment for being a child sex predator, allegedly having sex with an underaged boy student and luring him with, apparently, text messages, something to do electronic -- it`s got to be text messages, e-mails.
What do you think, Ben Levitan? Because the second charge -- I`ve got the indictment right here with me. Count two deals with sex abuse in the first degree. And the first one says unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sex or other prohibited activities.
So what do you think, texting, sending naked photos of herself? What is it, Levitan?
LEVITAN: Oh, you know, when you -- any sort of real-time communication, like texting, is considered communications. And I`ve seen this in many cases. Someone is texting a threat to somebody else. It just is -- it`s equal to calling them up or doing it in their face.
And you know, you have to unleash the lawyers to see if this is the appropriate charge. But certainly, nowadays, this is communications.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Jennifer Smetters, Hugo Rodriguez, Anne Bremner. But first out to the lines. Jamie in Oregon. Hi, Jamie. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, to me, it seems like there`s a double standard. Why is she only facing 10 years when she`s just as much of a predator as a male is?
GRACE: You know, Jamie in Oregon, I agree with you.
Out to Greg Kading, former LAPD, author of "Murder Rap." Greg, if this were a male and the victim were a young girl, he would be under the jail right now. He would be looking at life behind bars.
GREG KADING, FMR. LAPD DETECTIVE: Yes, there does seem to be a double standard to some degree.
What`s interesting about this case, Nancy, is that it`s not so much about the sexual relationship that is inappropriate, it`s the fact that she was a teacher and they had a sexual relationship. From what I understand, she was -- the law allows for a 16-year-old to have consent, but because she`s in a position of authority, that made it illegal.
GRACE: OK. Actually, the charge that they are using, the first charge is the electronic use, and in the second one, you`re absolutely right, when you abuse your position of authority, count two.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sarah Jones is the former Bengals cheerleader and former Dixie Heights teacher.
SARAH JONES, BENGALS CHEERLEADER, TEACHER CHARGED WITH CHILD SEX: My passion is teaching kids. I wake up every day looking forward to going to work.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jones is facing a sex abuse charge.
JONES: It`s just surprising. It`s sad. That`s all I can really say right now.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In court along with her, her mother, Cheryl Jones. She`s charged with tampering with evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Allegations surfaced of a possible sexual encounter with a student.
JONES: Any of my students could go to a public pool and see me in a bathing suit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At this time the Commonwealth feels that we have sufficient evidence to go forward as did a grand jury.
JONES: I could not face my students. My faculty members, my -- the school board. I was completely embarrassed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: She`s embarrassed. She was embarrassed when there was a post on thedirty.com Web site about her allegedly sleeping with Bengals players. She is a Bengals cheerleader with the NFL. She`s also an English teacher, a high school English teacher.
Well, I don`t know how upset she is about that because now she`s probably crying about the two-count indictment handed down against her for sex with a student, being a child sex predator.
To psychologist Caryn Stark. We just heard from Jamie in Oregon who says why she`s only facing five years on each count. Jamie in Oregon is right, Caryn Stark.
CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: I agree, Nancy, and I really also agree that if this were a male, an older teacher with a younger student, I can`t imagine it would be the same. In our culture there is this propensity to say that isn`t this exciting, this young boy, you know, feels good about himself as a man, and the fact that the family is supporting her feeds into that.
There`s no reason why someone in authority, male or female, should be taking advantage of somebody younger because authority gives them an expertise and it makes the younger person feel it`s OK.
GRACE: Jamie in Oregon, what do you think would be appropriate in this case?
JAMIE, CALLER FROM OREGON: Lock her away like you would anyone else. She should have no special treatment. If nothing else, she should be handed a harsher sentence because she`s been entrusted of protecting our children, not abusing them.
GRACE: To Shelly, Indiana -- hi, Shelly, what`s your question?
SHELLY, CALLER FROM INDIANA: Hello.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
SHELLY: My question kind of went with the first caller about the authority figure that these children have that we send each day our children to. Why do they not receive a harsher sentence? And if it`s a woman, why isn`t she charged exactly as if she were a male?
GRACE: To Jim Hannah, you`re joining us from Kentucky where all of this is happening right now with "The Kentucky Enquirer." Why the light charge, and how did this all come to light, Jim Hannah?
JIM HANNAH, REPORTER, KENTUCKY ENQUIRER: I think the light charge comes from the fact a few years ago the state legislature amended a law which made the age consent 18 years old if you had a sexual relationship with a person of authority, like a schoolteacher. In the past, the schoolteacher could have a relationship with someone 16 and older and it wasn`t considered illegal.
GRACE: Wow. So this is actually an advancement in Kentucky law, is that what you`re saying?
HANNAH: It`s my -- I`m not a lawyer but that`s my understanding, yes.
GRACE: OK. To Owen Lafave, I want to talk to you about your ex-wife Deb Lafave, teacher convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old student, raping a young boy is what it really is. You know, you just saw her. If you could wind that back up, you know, the clip of her on "20/20" or the clip of her on Anderson`s daytime show, she is all outraged at this guy who`s with us, Nick Richie, the founder of thedirty.com who somebody on his Web site posted she had sex with a Bengals player, Bengals players, and she had an STD. She was outraged. And the whole time, according to police, she is having sex with a boy student?
OWEN LAFAVE, EX-HUBBY OF DEBRA LAFAVE, CONVICTED OF SEX WITH STUDENT: That`s right. I think at this stage, I mean, she has no credibility, right? What I -- you know, it`d be interesting to hear from the lawyers, though, is the fact that very similar to my wife`s case the boy`s family, I mean they`re in support. They showed up at the arraignment hearing. This boy is not going to testify. She is not going to jail, Nancy. The prosecution has a big problem on their hands.
GRACE: Wait a minute. You say the boy is not going to testify. Why do you say that?
LAFAVE: He showed up at the arraignment hearing in support of her. I can`t imagine he`d say anything derogatory about her.
GRACE: So, are you telling me, Owen Lafave, that you think the boy will take the stand and lie?
LAFAVE: No, I`m saying that I think he`ll refuse to testify and won`t take the stand. They can`t force him to testify.
GRACE: Well, they can absolutely put a witness that has been subpoenaed behind bars. They certainly can.
LAFAVE: A minor? They can do that to?
GRACE: Yes. Yes. Absolutely.
LAFAVE: OK.
GRACE: When you are called --
LAFAVE: I know in my latest case the boy refused -- the boy refused to testify --
GRACE: I know, and the prosecutors just dropped it. They certainly did. They should have gone forward with it. And let him take the stand in front of his mother and his family and refuse to tell the truth. Because look --
LAFAVE: I don`t disagree with you, Nancy, but I can`t see them putting a boy in jail, especially when he`s the victim in this circumstance. I can`t see it happening.
GRACE: Listen, Owen. I hear what you`re saying. But if this were the way it worked, think about it, how many cases -- think of, for instance, domestic abuse cases when women come in -- I had a woman come in to court with a broken leg. Her face looked like she fell down a flight of steps, and guess who was helping her walk in? Her husband that had nearly killed her. And guess what? She didn`t want to testify.
Do you know how much it hurt me to know what she was going through and to also know that one month, three months, six months down the road he probably would kill her if I did not take that case forward?
Listen, I`ve been put on the stand before. Nobody likes being put on the stand. But this is not OK. What she did is not OK. What Deb Lafave did is not OK. It sends such a horrible message.
LAFAVE: And I`m not condoning it. She needs to go to jail. And there is a double standard.
GRACE: And the only way -- you think I want to put a kid on the stand? No, I don`t.
LAFAVE: I`m not saying that, Nancy.
GRACE: I don`t want to do that. But what I do want is justice, and I don`t care if she is pretty or if she`s white or if she`s a cheerleader. Don`t care.
I want to ask you the thinking behind this woman because you were living with Deb Lafave while she was raping -- that`s the reality of it -- a little boy that was her student. And she would come home and act completely normal with you. And here you`ve got this guy, this one`s husband, getting an annulment. Sarah Jones is in the middle of an annulment with her husband. When you look back on it, how was Deb Lafave acting during all of this?
LAFAVE: She -- there was a very brief period of time and it happened very quickly, but her personality changed drastically. I mean she was a different person. She was acting different, had different desires in life, was dressing different, was actually -- you know, of course this came out after the fact but was, you know, reprimanded and talked to by the principal to try to dress a little more professionally so there was a big change in behavior and it`d be interesting to see if there were similar -- you know, similar, I guess, changes in behavior through, you know, Mrs. Jones.
GRACE: But when she would come home would she act the same way? Would she cook dinner? Would you go guys out to Chili`s? I mean would you still have sex together? Did she still interact with your family and her family as if nothing was wrong?
LAFAVE: Yes, yes.
GRACE: Wow.
LAFAVE: I mean she put this facade. It`s disgusting. You know quite frankly it is crazy.
GRACE: You know what, your mind must have been so upside-down. This woman, Sarah Jones, only married for nine months when this goes down.
A quick break. We`re taking your calls.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: I`m an NFL cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals. This will be my sixth season with the Bengals, and I`m currently captain.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A student in the courtroom united not only as mother and daughter but by matching pleas of not guilty.
JONES: My passion is teaching kids. I wake up every single day looking forward to going to work.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Former teacher and Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones walked out of jail with her mom.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Accused of having sex with a student --
JONES: One day I was this credible teacher that they looked up to, that they listened to. The next day I was this slut to them.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Her mother, Cheryl Jones, who was the principal, charged with tampering with evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Rumor swirled on a gossip Web site that she slept with several Bengals players.
JONES: I think that I hit rock bottom when I had --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls. To Michael Board, WOAI, joining us.
Michael, I don`t understand the light charges, either only five years on each charge? If this were a man, this would be a rape charge and he could face 20 to life.
MICHAEL BOARD, REPORTER, WOAI NEWSRADIO: I don`t understand why they`re not upgrading it because she is in a position of responsibility.
You know, Nancy, I`ve covered a lot of court cases where the judge has thrown the book at defendants because they are either doctors or lawyers and hold a position of responsibility.
GRACE: To Dr. Vincent Dimaio, former chief medical examiner, Bexar County, forensic pathologist, what type of evidence could they even hope to get at this juncture, forensic evidence?
DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, M.D., FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BEXAR COUNTY, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, it`s kind of like the stain on the blue dress with President Clinton. They`re going to have to get her clothing and then just examine it to see if there are any stains, transmission of semen from the boy, and if they find that on her clothing, then she`s dead in the water.
GRACE: Question, with all of the allegation that have been posted online regarding the possibility she has an STD, what do the parents have to be concerned about?
DIMAIO: Well, they have to be concerned that the boy has the infection now, so I`m sure he was taken to a doctor and examined because, you know, you don`t want him to get some infection and maybe transmit it to other people, too.
GRACE: And to you, Nik Richie, the first interview since Jones` indictment, she actually sued you for millions of dollars claiming you defamed her, you hurt her reputation when somebody on your Web site, thedirty.com, claimed she slept with Bengals Tigers players, and had an STD. What about the STD allegation?
NIK RICHIE, FOUNDER, THEDIRTY.COM, SUED BY NFL CHEERLEADER: Well, the thing is the STD allegation was coming from her boyfriend who turned into her fiance who she married. That was the allegation.
GRACE: But how do you know that? How do you know it wasn`t somebody just posing as him?
RICHIE: No, it was a submission from their friends or their group of friends that they hung out with and a girl that has been with him previously.
And, Nancy, the funny thing that no one is talking about, in the annulment paperwork, she said that the marriage was never consummated, so obviously, you know, this boy, this little boy, she was using him for love or lust or whatever she was lacking in her marriage, and there must have been a reason why she wouldn`t sleep with her husband.
GRACE: Now what do we know about the husband, Nik Richie?
RICHIE: From what I gather, from what has been submitted to thedirty.com, he`s not a very loyal person. He slept around on her. Even in her deposition she admitted that he cheated on her. So, you know, you can`t lie in the depo and that`s the information that we have.
GRACE: OK. You`re basing that on her depo. All right, we`re taking your calls.
Pete in Pennsylvania. Hi, Pete, what`s your question?
PETE, CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Hey, Nancy, I heard you on "GMA" this morning and I`m not sure why you think she should get charged. I totally disagree with you. If the boy is siding with her, I mean isn`t it just a rite of passage for a boy to sleep with a teacher or an older lady?
GRACE: Pete, did you sleep with your teachers?
PETE: No, but it`s everybody`s --
GRACE: Well, I guess it`s not a rite of passage, is it? I didn`t sleep with mine.
Let`s go a round -- let`s do a round robin.
Caryn Stark, did you sleep with your teacher?
STARK: Absolutely not.
GRACE: Anne Bremner, did you?
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, no.
GRACE: OK. Rodriguez, what about you?
HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FMR. FBI AGENT: Fifth.
GRACE: Excuse me?
RODRIGUEZ: I`ll take the Fifth.
GRACE: Don`t joke with me. I`m serious, Hugo. The attitude that this is a rite of passage, it`s ludicrous.
RODRIGUEZ: That is -- that is totally incorrect.
GRACE: And what if he gets some cook like Pete in Pennsylvania on your jury? What if? What if?
RODRIGUEZ: For once, Nancy, I am agreeing with you. That is a total incorrect position to take. This should be evaluated the same way it would be evaluated whether it`s male or female. We`re sending the wrong message if we don`t.
GRACE: And you know what, Hugo, I mean, look, take your defense hat off just for a moment. You were a former fed with the FBI. I`ve got a little boy and a little girl. If either one of them, one hair on their head is ever touched, hell will break loose.
And I don`t understand, Hugo, why this family is siding with the teacher, sitting up in court behind her.
RODRIGUEZ: Right. The other thing that we haven`t said and this will have a dramatic impact on that young boy. Right now he`s being influenced by adults. His head is probably spinning. He doesn`t even understand a lot of what is going on. This will have a life-altering psychological impact on him.
GRACE: To Jennifer Smetters, family law attorney out of Chicago. Weigh in, Jennifer.
JENNIFER SMETTERS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Yes, I`d like to see what`s going on in the home of that child. See why the parents aren`t a little bit more outraged. I`m concerned as to what the home environment is like. I am disgusted by the charges. I think they should be higher but I think bringing in the mother is kind of their fail safe right now in case the child truly does not cooperate and maybe even is held in contempt for failure to testify, I don`t know. But that mom is the prosecution`s safety net when all else fails, I believe.
GRACE: I`ll tell you one thing, before I would have my son go spend a week in juvie jail, I would have him take the stand and tell the truth and have the chips fall where they may.
Out to the lines, to Peggy in West Virginia. Hi, Peggy. What`s your question?
PEGGY, CALLER FROM WEST VIRGINIA: OK. I`m like you. And I have a son. Well, he`s not in school anymore, OK. If a teacher had touched him, period, I would want to break her neck. Number one, if the 16-year-old boy initiated this, all the teacher would have had to have done was said, no. So obviously she didn`t say no. I don`t know if she initiated it.
GRACE: Well, she obviously didn`t say no. You know what, back to you, Jim Hannah. Where did all of this go down? Was the assault on the little boy in the the school?
HANNAH: We don`t know. The indictment just says it happened between October 1st and December 31st. We know the school was informed of the investigation when Sarah resigned on November 29th or 30th. And I think the story broke when I wrote about it in the "Kentucky Enquirer" newspaper in December.
GRACE: We are taking your calls. Bengals NFL cheerleader, English teacher, now charged as a child sex predator.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: I don`t teach elementary school. I teach high school. These kids Google me. They see things. They -- if it`s on the Internet, it`s real to them. They believe it. Reading those things that you just heard, saying that I had had these two STDs and I had sex in my classroom --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: There you see Sarah Jones, age 26, whining to Anderson Cooper, and then later on "20/20" that she was defamed because on thedirty.com founded by Nik Richie, somebody posted that she was sleeping with Bengals football players and that she had an STD.
All right, now, I don`t know if either of those are true, but she`s got a lot more to worry about than that. Because she`s charged right now with two felony counts related to being a child sex predator.
Everyone is acting like this sex victim is a boy. OK. Let me see the picture of Trayvon Martin. Now what`s interesting is that everyone acts like Trayvon Martin is a grown man. But when it comes to this case, suddenly a child the same age is a little boy. So that`s certainly food for thought.
Out to the lines. Kimberly in California. Hi, Kimberly, what`s your question?
KIMBERLY, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Hi, Nancy. I have a question. What has the NFL or the Bengals said about this case? Have they --
GRACE: Good question. Clark Goldband, what do they have to say?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Nancy, the team tells us they are aware of the situation and they are monitoring the situation to see what happens.
GRACE: Did you say they`re monitoring it? Is that what they`re doing?
GOLDBAND: That was basically the statement that they gave. That they`re aware of the situation. They are --
GRACE: We can`t even get her kicked off the cheerleading squad?
GOLDBAND: They said they`re not going to comment until this matter has --
GRACE: Put him up.
GOLDBAND: They said this is not going to -- they`re not going to comment on it until this matter has been resolved.
GRACE: Clark. She`s indicted as a child sex predator. They cannot kick her off the cheerleading squad? Is that what you`re telling me?
GOLDBAND: The Cincinnati Bengals are not taking a statement or public position until this is settled in the courts.
GRACE: Good to know.
Let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant Brian Leon Guerrero, 34, Guam, killed Afghanistan. On a third tour, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal. Loved fishing, playing ukulele. Family barbecues. Leaves behind parents Rosita and Gil, stepfather, Pedro, widow, Emily, six children.
Brian Leon Guerrero, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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