Victor Conte on Marion Jones' 'Poor Choices'

Jan. 11, 2008 — -- Earlier today in federal court, track star Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison, two years of supervised release and 800 hours of community service.

In October, Jones pleaded guilty to charges of lying to federal investigators in 2003 about using steroids. She was stripped of the five medals she earned at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

In 2004, "Nightline" co-anchor Martin Bashir sat down for an exclusive "20/20" interview with Victor Conte, former chief of California-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, which was facing federal charges for distributing steroids and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs to athletes.

Conte gave the following statement to ABC News today about Jones' sentencing:

"I feel very sad for Marion and her family. Marion did make some very poor choices and she does deserve serious consequences. I certainly don't condone her repeated lies. But I do feel especially bad for Marion's mother and her two children. They didn't lie or cheat or use performance enhancing drugs, yet they are also enduring great pain. I've also made some very poor decisions that caused similar torment for me as well as my family. It's been difficult, but I'm working to earn the forgiveness of others. There is a saying in prison that inmates don't do the time, their families do. Looking into a family member's eyes and seeing the hurt you have caused is the most painful consequence. Marion was one of the most celebrated athletes in Olympic history and her mistakes have caused her to be stripped of everything she worked so very hard to achieve. There is no doubt in my mind that she has learned gigantic lessons. Hopefully, she will be able to serve as an example and help others to make good decisions. Marion is not a bad person. She is simply someone who made some bad decisions. Nonetheless, I'm optimistic that she, too, will someday find a way to be forgiven."

In 2004, Conte told Bashir that he supplied performance enhancing drugs to Jones. "20/20" also obtained calendars that Conte said showed how and when Jones used the drugs. Jones denied the allegations at the time and filed a $25 million defamation suit against Conte about the statements he made to Bashir. The lawsuit was later settled on undisclosed terms. In 2005, Conte pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and money laundering.

Below is the original report from Bashir's 2004 interview, which aired on "20/20" on Dec. 3, 2004.

Victor Conte, a man at the center of an anti-doping scandal that has rocked the top tiers of the sports world, tells "20/20" he tailored illegal drug regimens for top athletes, including Olympic track stars Marion Jones, Kelli White and Tim Montgomery.

The use of performance-enhancing drugs among professional and Olympic athletes is rampant, according to Conte, and getting around the anti-doping rules is "like taking candy from a baby," he says in an exclusive interview with "20/20" correspondent Martin Bashir.

"In short, the Olympic Games are a fraud," Conte says.

Conte, founder of the California-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, which is facing federal charges for distributing steroids and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs to athletes, says he supplied Jones with a variety of illegal drugs from August 2000 through September 2001. He claims to have supplied her with a substance called "the clear," EPO, human growth hormone, and insulin. (The clear is thought to be the anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG. EPO, an acronym for erythropoietin, is a red blood cell-boosting hormone experts say can increase endurance by 10 percent to 15 percent.)

"After I instructed her how to do it and dialed it up, she did the injection with me sitting right there next to her, right in front of me," Conte says. "Marion didn't like to inject in the stomach area. ... She would do it in her quad. The front part of her leg," he tells "20/20."

Jones, described as the fastest woman on Earth, won five Olympic medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Rumors of performance-enhancing drug use have dogged her, but she has never failed a drug test and maintains she has never used illegal drugs.

Conte says there simply aren't accurate drug tests to detect the substances he claims Jones used. "As I told you earlier ... it's like taking candy from a baby," Conte tells "20/20."

Jones declined to be interviewed for this story. In a written statement to ABC, her lawyers insisted Jones "has never, ever used performance-enhancing drugs" and that she "passed a lie detector examination." They also said, "Victor Conte is simply not credible."

In a statement released today, Jones said, "Victor Conte's allegations about me are not true, and the truth will come out in the appropriate forum. I have instructed my lawyers to vigorously explore a defamation lawsuit against Victor Conte."