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Former Major League Baseball Player Ordered to Pay Victim of Revenge Porn

San Diego native Jacque Jones posted nude photos of an Escondido woman on social media

A local jury has awarded nearly $67,000 to a woman who says former professional baseball player and San Diego native Jacque Jones posted nude photos of her on social media as a way to get back at her.

The jury reached their decision last week in a San Diego courtroom, awarding an unnamed woman from Escondido $66,952 and possibly hundreds of thousand of dollars in attorney’s fees.

Jones, who played professionally for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, and the Florida Marlins, was hired in 2016 as a hitting coach for the Washington Nationals under former manager Dusty Baker.

In January 2017, Jones entered into an eight-month long relationship with the plaintiff in the civil case, an unnamed woman from Escondido.

The details of their relationship and subsequent break-up were chronicled in a September 2017 lawsuit filed by the woman in San Diego Superior Court.

According to the lawsuit, as Jones traveled with the Nationals, he remained in contact with the woman via email, social media, and text messages. At one point, Jones asked the woman to send him naked photos of her, assuring her, according to the lawsuit, “U know I ain't gonna do nothing silly with ['em]."

The relationship soon ran afoul. In the complaint the woman said Jones became angry and demanding. On August 25, 2017, while Jones was in town for a Padres game, Jones grew angry at the woman for giving away hats that he had given her to a friend. The friend posted a picture of him in the new hat on his Facebook page. A few minutes later, Jones, according to evidence from the trial, wrote the man a message with a naked photo of the woman stating, “Ask ya homegirl if she wants these back…”

On February 21, nearly a year and a half after the woman filed her lawsuit, a San Diego jury reached a verdict, awarding the woman nearly $67,000 in damages. In addition, the woman’s attorney, Rory Pendergast, says Jones could potentially be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees.

“No matter how famous you may be, you will be held accountable,” Pendergast told NBC 7. “And when strong women, like Jane Doe, stand up for what's right, despite getting humiliated, called a liar, a cheat, and all sorts of other names, justice can be served.”

Pendergast said despite Jones having admitted to posting the photo, the San Diego High School graduate “looked defiant and angry during the trial and his testimony and did nothing but blame the victim.”

“Jones admitted the photo was sent to him by Jane Doe,” said Pendergast. “And yet, he tried to say he ‘didn't know’ who was in the photo. We had to fight hard for the past 18 months and he could never own up to what he did.”

“Mr. Jones feels vindicated with the jury verdict,” said Jones’ attorney Howard King Jr. “The plaintiff sought damages of $2.8 million. The plaintiff greatly overreached.”

NBC 7 spoke to the woman, who still wished to remain anonymous. Her statement was brief, “Trust no one.”

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