Glamorous Olympic track star Marion Jones has been publicly disgraced, humiliated, and stripped of her medals after admitting she took steroids. Now a judge has sentenced the mother of two to six months in prison for lying to the feds during an investigation of the doping scandal, and having prior knowledge of a check fraud scam.
After long denying she ever had used performance-enhancing drugs, Jones admitted last October she lied to federal investigators in November 2003, acknowledging she took the designer steroid "the clear" from September 2000 to July 2001. "The clear" has been linked to BALCO, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports.
The sentence completes a stunning fall for the woman who was once the most celebrated female athlete in the world. She won three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Jones had pleaded that despite her conviction she should not be separated from her two young children "even for a short period of time."
Jones' lawyers had further pleaded for clemency, claiming that probation would be enough for a woman who had "suffered enough". They stated in her defense that "she has been cast from American hero to national disgrace. The public scorn, from a nation that once adored her, and her fall from grace have been severe punishments."
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas gave her the maximum sentence under her plea deal "because of the need for general deterrence and the need to promote respect for the law."
Jones also admitted lying about her knowledge of the involvement of Tim Montgomery, the father of her older son Monty, in a scheme to cash millions of dollars worth of stolen or forged checks. Montgomery and several others, include Jones' former coach Steve Riddick, have already been convicted of related offenses.
Once she admitted she had taken steroids, Jones was forced to return the five medals she won at the Sydney Olympics. The International Association of Athletics Federations has also banned her and wiped her track and field results since 2000 from the record books.
Sadly, the 32-year-old mother of two young sons is also reportedly broke, having squandered the millions she earned in winnings and endorsements.
