Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading captain and ex-teacher indicted for having sex with student - months after she was accused of sleeping with players

The Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading captain may have to trade her pom poms for handcuffs after she was slapped with charges of sex abuse of a former student.

Sarah Jones, an ex-teacher and current member of the Ben-Gals cheerleading squad was charged today with sex abuse for allegedly bedding a student.

Jones, 26, was charged with sexual abuse and unlawful use of electronic devices to solicit illegal activity.

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Cheer captain: Sarah Jones, front, has been a cheerleader with the Cincinnati Bengals for five years

Legal case: Jones was the subject of a defamation case in 2009, when she sued TheDirty.com for publishing photos of her with comments that she 'had two STDs' and had sex in her classroom



If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.

Jones has been a member of the Ben-Gals squad for five years and, until last year, was a ninth grade English teacher at Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood, Kentucky.

She resigned from her teaching job on November 30, citing ‘personal reasons’.

Cincinnati.com reported that Jones’ mother, Cheryl Jones, was also indicted today for tampering with evidence in her daughter's sex abuse case.

Busted: Jones, who resigned as a teacher at Dixie Heights High School in Kentucky, has been accused of having sex with a student at the school

On the sidelines: The 26-year-old was captain of the Ben-Gals squad in the 2011-2012 football season, according to the team's website



Cheryl Jones is a principal at the Twenhofel Middle School in Independence, Kentucky, a school in the same school district as her daughter’s former school.

They both plan to plead not guilty, according to their lawyer, Charles Lester Jr.

Mr Lester said in a statement to The Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘Sarah has maintained her innocence. The indictment of her mother is completely baseless'.

The Bengals organisation would not comment on the case.



Jones' mother Cheryl, left, a principal at another high school in the district, was also indicted today and charged with obstructing the case against her daughter



Sarah Jones grabbed headlines in 2009 when she became the subject of what she claimed was a lurid smear campaign when photos of her appeared on TheDirty.com with comments that branded her a 'slut' who 'had two STDs'.

Jones claimed she postings cost her her reputation with colleagues at the school after it was alleged that she had sex in her classroom.

But even after she emailed the site pleading that the photos be taken down, more appeared, with new posts claiming she had sex with Bengals players .

Denial: Jones' attorney said that both she and her mother will plead not guilty

Appearing on ABC News around the time of the scandal, she said: 'To stand in front of 30 15-year-olds and tell them you don't have two STDs and that you are not a slut is the hardest thing you will ever have to do'.

Ms Jones sued Nik Richie, TheDirty.com’s founder, for character defamation - and she was awarded an $11million default judgement, but the litigation is ongoing.