Fla. Teacher Pleads Guilty in Sex Case
Posted on: Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 12:00 CST
TAMPA, Fla. - A female teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to having sex with a 14-year-old middle school student, avoiding prison as part of a plea agreement.
Debra Lafave, 25, whose sensational case made tabloid headlines, will serve three years of house arrest and seven years' probation. She pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery.
The former Greco Middle School reading teacher apologized during the hearing, saying that "I accept full responsibility for my actions."
The boy told investigators the two had sex in a classroom at the Greco school, located in Temple Terrace near Tampa, in her Riverview town house and once in a vehicle while his 15-year-old cousin drove them around Marion County.
If convicted at trial, she could have faced up to 15 years in prison on each count. The plea agreement also was designed to resolve similar charges pending in Marion County.
Her attorney, John Fitzgibbons, said in July that plea negotiations had broken off because prosecutors had insisted on prison time. He said she planned to plead insanity at trial, claiming that emotional stress kept her from knowing right from wrong.
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
Related Articles
- Incarcerated Getting Educated
- Oprah Wept at Learning of School Assault
- 10 Men Contract Staph Infections in NY
- Calypte Announces First Russian Sales Order
- BookAdz.Com CEO Cheryl Kaye Tardif Interviews 24-7PressRelease.Com
- Aramark OKs $6.3B Offer to Go Private
- Chatham Unswayed By Schools' Hike Pleas
- Man, 20, Takes Plea in Killing of Piper High School Classmate
- Schools Hire First Internal Auditor: Longtime U.S. Government Worker to Monitor Capital, Operating Budgets
- Hundreds Make Plea of 'Save Our Schools!' to Granite
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds