NFL cheerleader wins $11 million libel suit

A gossip website has been hit with an $11 million judgment for libel and slander after posting false accusations about a northern Kentucky teacher who sidelines as a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader.

August 26, 2010

By The Associated Press  LOUISVILLE, Ky. —The judgment against Dirty World Entertainment Recordings, which runs the site Thedirt.com, came yesterday after the site declined to answer a lawsuit brought by Sarah Jones. The high school teacher filed suit after her picture was posted on the site along with an accusation she had been exposed to two venereal diseases.

As of this morning, the accusation remained on the Web site.

U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman added an annual interest rate of 0.25%t to the $1 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.

An e-mail message sent to the operator of the Arizona-based website, Hooman Karamian, who uses the online name “Nik Ritchie,” was not returned in time for this story.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press
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