Ex Teacher guilty of sex crime

Brandon C. Jones has plead no contest to the charge of a third-degree sex offense in an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Jones, who was a gym teacher and basketball coach at Backus Middle School in Northwest, was charged with arranging to have a sexual encounter in a Maryland motel room with a 14-year-old female student. After the court appearance, defense attorney Michael S. Blumenthal said Jones "steadfastly maintains his innocence." He said Jones agreed to the Alford plea in a deal to avoid prosecution in two other jurisdictions based on his alleged encounters with the girl.