Thursday, June 20, 2013 | 2:04 a.m.
Hi, (not you?) | Member Center | Sign Out
Updated: 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 | Posted: 6:03 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013
NORTHERN KENTUCKY —
Media reports out of Cincinnati say a mistrial has been declared in the former Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleader’s defamation lawsuit against a gossip website.
A jury told a U.S. district judge on Thursday afternoon it could not reach a verdict and was deadlocked. The judge had asked them to return Friday morning to continue their deliberations.
The deadlock was declared Friday afternoon after about eight hours of deliberations, Cincinnati-based CBS affiliate WKRC-TV is reporting.
Eric Deters, attorney for Sarah Jones, the ex-cheerleader who also is a former high school teacher who admitted to having sex with her underage student, told the jury Thursday that they could send a message by finding that the website defamed Jones in anonymously submitted lewd online posts.
The attorneys for defendant thedirty.com and owner Hooman Karamian argued that the posts did not amount to defamation and contained some truth because of the plaintiff’s character.
WKRC-TV also is reporting that the trial judge asked both sides to reach out to one another to reach a settlement, but acknowledged the case could be retried at a later date.
Jones was asking for $11 million in her lawsuit against the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based website and its operator, claiming she was defamed by posts in 2009 that said she had sex with every Bengals player and suggested she had two sexually transmitted diseases.
Jones pleaded guilty to having sex with her 17-year-old former student. According to her lawsuit, the posts were unrelated to her relationship with the teen.
She resigned from her teaching job and from the NFL team’s cheer squad in 2011. She had held both positions for about four years.
Advertisers & Sponsors |
© 2013 Cox Media Group. By using this website,
you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices
.
Already have an account? Sign In
{* #registrationForm *} {* traditionalRegistration_displayName *} {* traditionalRegistration_emailAddress *} {* traditionalRegistration_password *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirm *}Already have an account? Sign In
{* #registrationFormBlank *} {* registration_firstName *} {* registration_lastName *} {* traditionalRegistration_displayName *} {* traditionalRegistration_emailAddressBlank *} {* registration_birthday *} {* registration_gender *} {* registration_postalZip *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordBlank *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirmBlank *} {* agreeToTerms *}We have sent you a confirmation email. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
We look forward to seeing you frequently. Visit us and sign in to update your profile, receive the latest news and keep up to date with mobile alerts.
Don't worry, it happens. We'll send you a link to create a new password.
{* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* forgotPassword_emailAddress *}We have sent you an email with a link to change your password.
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
To sign in you must verify your email address. Fill out the form below and we'll send you an email to verify.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* resendVerification_emailAddress *}Check your email for a link to verify your email address.

You're Almost Done!
Select a display name and password
{* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* socialRegistration_displayName *} {* socialRegistration_emailAddress *} {* traditionalRegistration_password *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirm *}Tell us about yourself
{* registration_firstName *} {* registration_lastName *} {* registration_postalZip *} {* registration_birthday *} {* registration_gender *} {* agreeToTerms *}