Former Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones, an ex-high school teacher facing sexual abuse charges after an accusation that she had sex with an underage student, says she’s angry that she’s being portrayed as a sexual predator.
“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,” Jones told ABC News.
Jones has declined to answer directly whether or not she actually had sex with the boy, but she says the charges have been misconstrued.
“I think people are taking this whole student-teacher thing -- yes, he was a student but he was not my student,” Jones said.
So does Jones think it’s OK for a teacher to have sex with an underage student, as long as the student isn’t in the teacher’s class? Jones hasn’t said that, but she has said that the boy’s parents support her.
“He was a family friend and I am very close to his parents,” Jones said. “Had it not been for their support it would be very difficult to get through this without them.”
Jones lost both her teaching job and her spot on the Bengals’ cheerleading squad when she was charged with sexual abuse.