Jerry Jones appears headed to suffer at least some embarrassment.
The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday that a judge denied a request from the attorneys for the Dallas Cowboys' owner to seal the sexual assault lawsuit against him from public view.
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Jana Weckerly, a former stripper, filed a lawsuit Monday and is seeking more than $1 million in damages in connection with an incident involving Jones in May or June of 2009 at a local, five-star hotel. Weckerly took some suggestive photos of Jones with two women.
Weckerly claims that Jones, now 71 and the father of three, groped her and made her watch another woman engage in sexual activity with him.
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The sordid details are precisely what Jones and his lawyers wanted to keep from the public domain through the media.
"There's no way this case should move forward," attorney Levi McCathern II argued in front of 134th District Court Judge Dale Tillery. "Continuing to keep it in the media, continuing to keep it in the public eye, does nothing but harm the reputation of Mr. Jones needlessly."
Tillery sympathized but said the public's right to transparency in the justice system through the courts was more important than the possibility that the information could cause public embarrassment.
"Either fortunately or unfortunately, I also served in the Legislature, and I have a deep faith and belief in open courts and the public's right to know and the press's right to report," Tillery said. "I don't always agree with them and ... I've not always thought they cast me in a fair light, but the flip side is to allow certain interests to control what is seen by whom and when. That's why we have open courts."
Tillery did rule in favor of Jones' team to issue a gag order preventing attorneys from discussing the case with the media.
Weckerly's attorney, Thomas Bowers, still must convince Tillery that the trial should be exempt from the five-year statute of limitations and be allowed to proceed. That argument is scheduled to take place later this month.
How much damage do you thing Jerry Jones' reputation will incur as a result of the lawsuit against him alleging sexual assault? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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