Jeni Lee Dinkel case draws suit from victim's mother

In June, Jeni Lee Dinkel admitted to having sex with her son's then 15-year-old classmate.

The judge could have sent Dinkel to jail for five years. Instead he sentenced her to five years probation and ordered her to jail for 60 days after her son's radiation treatment for cancer.

The sentencing climaxed a controversial case that raised questions about proper punishment for the mother of a boy with cancer who raped one of her son's friends. Dinkel is the wife of the popular ex-Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Tom Dinkel.

This special section from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Victim's mom sues Jeni Lee Dinkel

Says others named in suit

could have stopped abuse

People and agencies who knew that Jeni Lee Dinkel repeatedly had sexual relations last year with a 15-year-old classmate of her son's failed to take proper action to stop the abuse, alleges a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Kenton Circuit Court.

"Had these people that were in a position to stop the abuse done the proper thing, the statutorily required thing, these actions that hurt the child, at least in part, would have been stopped," said Newport lawyer Rene Heinrich.

The suit filed by the victim's mother on behalf of her minor child seeks unspecified damages from Dinkel, who is serving a 60-day sentence in the Kenton County Detention Center for raping the victim; Dinkel's husband, retired Bengals linebacker Tom Dinkel; Covington Catholic High School Principal Michael Clines; the Covington Diocese, and Park Hills Police Chief Rick Smith.

The defendants are accused of "willful, wanton, reckless and grossly negligent conduct" resulting in "permanent mental and emotional injuries that the victim will continue to suffer," the suit says....

The suit alleges that Tom Dinkel knew or should have known that his wife was "providing alcohol to minors and engaging in sexual conduct."

School responds to rape case
The Covington Diocese
says it 'complied fully'

COVINGTON - The Covington Diocese has responded to a lawsuit filed by a Northern Kentucky mother whose teenage son was raped by a classmate's mother.

The diocese believes it and Covington Catholic High School "complied fully" with their legal obligations to report the suspected abuse that took place off school grounds, diocesan spokesman Tim Fitzgerald said...

..."The principal of Covington Catholic High School, Michael Clines, reported this matter to the Kenton County Department for Community Based Services on Oct. 19, 2006, shortly after he learned of it from a parent in the school. When the Kenton County Department of Community Based Services informed him a week and a half later that they would not investigate the matter because the student was a resident in Campbell County, Mr. Clines reported the matter that same day to the Campbell County Department for Community Based Services.

"After several follow-up calls to both the Kenton County and the Campbell County Departments for Community Based Services, Mr. Clines called the Kenton County police and the Park Hills police to make a further report.

The authorities were provided with all the information available to Mr. Clines and the Diocese at that time, and we believe that the Diocese and the Covington Catholic High School cooperated fully in this investigation."

Judge rejects Dinkel plea deal

Options: Be tried or be sentenced

The Villa Hills woman who thought she had a deal to resolve charges that she had sex with schoolmate of her son's at Covington Catholic High will now have to decide whether to go to trial or let a judge decide her fate.

That's the choice left Jeni Lee Dinkel after Kenton Circuit Judge Greg Bartlett refused Monday to approve her plea agreement, which would have spared her prison time.

Bartlett said he had too many questions about the agreement to ratify it.

He gave Dinkel - a Hollywood makeup artist and wife of former Bengal Tom Dinkel - two weeks to decide whether she wanted to withdraw the guilty plea and go to trial, or allow Bartlett to impose his own sentence on her.

...If her guilty plea stands, Dinkel could be sentenced to one to five years in prison.

"We're obviously disappointed in the judge's decision not to approve the plea deal," Travis said. "We're going to sit down and evaluate what we will do next."

Sanders said the next move is entirely Dinkel's call.

...Bartlett told the two sides at Monday's hearing that the court had not been included enough as the plea deal was being developed.

He complained that a sex offender assessment of Dinkel was done privately at her own expense and not by experts first approved by the court.

Bartlett also said differing accounts of who actually initiated the sexual contact - Dinkel or the boy - left too many unanswered questions to warrant approving the deal.

This from the Cincinnati Post. Photo by PATRICK REDDY/THE ENQUIRER: With her case unresolved, Jeni Lee Dinkel leaves court with her lawyer, Burr Travis.