The young man at the center of the Bengals cheerleader scandal is speaking out, saying he wasn’t a victim and his girlfriend did nothing wrong. INSIDE EDITION reports.
It was a shocking pledge of love between the disgraced former captain of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad and Cody York, the student with whom she was found guilty of having illicit sex.
“We made a poor choice together, but that doesn't mean we can't find happiness at the end of the day. And we will,” said Sarah Jones.
York said, “It doesn't matter what other people think. We'll prove them people wrong, because I know that we will be together.”
Jones wept in court in Covington, Kentucky as she confessed to the affair with the student, York, now legally an adult at 18. They left court holding hands.
"I had sexual contact, including sexual intercourse, with Cody York in Canton County, Kentucky, while he was a student and I was a teacher," Jones said in court.
The couple spoke out for the first time to Jeff Ross on NBC Dateline. York claimed his girlfriend did nothing wrong
“I didn't like being called the victim, because I wasn't the victim. I wasn't a victim of anything, she never did anything to me,” said York.
Ross asked, “She didn't manipulate you?”
“Absolutely not,” said York.
The youth, who was under age at 17 when the love affair began, says he couldn't stop worrying about the fate of Jones.
“I was a nervous wreck. I'd just lay in bed and cry because I knew she didn't deserve to be in trouble, and I didn't want anything to happen to her at all,” said York.
Jones, whose husband left her after just six weeks of marriage when he suspected she was having an affair, was sentenced to five years probation.
Jones admitted she was in the wrong, “There’s no gray area. It is wrong for a teacher to have any type of relationship that crosses the line with a student."