Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Slapped With Sexual Assault Accusation By Exotic Dancer
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is the target of a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault. The woman filing the suit against Jones is a former exotic dancer who claims that Jones forced her into a number of sexual acts in 2009.
News of the accusations against Jones broke via The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday with a report that Jana Weckerly had filed suit against the Cowboys owner. Weckerly, 27, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, said that in 2009 Jones forced her to touch or rub his penis. She also alleges that Jones required her to watch as the 71-year-old received oral sex from another woman.
Weckerly’s suit against Jones seeks more than $1 million in damages. Her attorney says that the incident with Jones required counseling for his client, as well as medication to help her cope with the trauma.
Weckerly says that she is the woman who took the scandalous photos of Jones that popped up on the internet recently. In those photos, Jones is shown in a number of risqué positions with exotic dancers, though Weckerly assured Deadspin last week that she had no intention of using the pictures to blackmail Jones.
Upon releasing the pictures, Weckerly’s attorney told Deadspin that “some pretty egregious stuff” happened when the exotic dancer met the Cowboys owner. They were, as of Friday, only considering bringing litigation against Jones, though now she appears to have decided to go forward on that track.
Jones has said that the suggestive photos “misrepresented” what happened that night, but the Cowboys owner has not so far come out with a full statement on the incident.
“Someone has misrepresented photos taken at a restaurant five years ago for their own purposes,” Jones told the Morning News back in August. “I’m just not going to comment on it.”
According to Weckerly’s attorney, her sexual assault at the hands of Jones occurred in the bathroom of a five-star hotel. The woman says Jones started out friendly, as though he simply wanted to party with Weckerly and her friends. At one point, Jones offered to put his Super Bowl ring on Weckerly’s finger.
Prior to that, Weckerly alleges, Jones posed with one woman who had spent “special time” with him. Jones’ shirt was untucked, according to Weckerly’s account, and his pants were unzipped.
The allegations against Jones come as the NFL struggles to maintain and improve its image as an organization that values women. Currently, the league is embroiled in a controversy stemming from its handling of the punishment for Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was caught on video knocking his then-fiancee unconscious in an elevator.
[Lead image via Total Pro Sports]
