Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Florida Teacher Who Had Sex with Student

By Linda Orlando

Debra Lafave, a former middle school teacher in Tampa, was arrested almost two years ago and accused of having sex with a 14-year old student that she met while chaperoning a field trip. Hillsborough County authorities charged Lafave, 25, with having sex with the boy in a classroom and her home. Marion County officials also charged her with having sex with the boy in a sport utility vehicle while his cousin drove. At the time the unions occurred, Lafave had been married for less than a year to her college boyfriend.

Last November, Hillsborough County prosecutors agreed to a sentence of three years of house arrest and seven years probation in exchange for Lafave pleading guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery. Prosecutors in Marion County, after considering the toll a trial would take on the victim, decided to offer Lafave a similar plea bargain and sent their proposal to Marion County Circuit Judge Hale Stancil for approval. A psychiatrist who examined the teenage victim told the judge at a previous hearing that the boy had suffered extreme anxiety following the media coverage of the case, and as a result, he did not want to testify.

On Tuesday morning, Judge Stancil rejected the proposed plea deal, saying that the bargain offering no prison time for Lafave in exchange for a guilty plea "shocks the conscience of this court." Prosecutors and defense attorneys strongly urged the judge to accept the deal for the sake of the boy involved, but the judge adamantly insisted that Lafave should serve time for her actions. Just a few hours later, Assistant State Attorney Richard Ridgway decided that the county was going to drop the charges so that the victim would not have to testify. Ridgway told reporters, "The court may be willing to risk the well-being of the victims in this case in order to force it to trial. I am not."

Hillsborough County prosecutor Mike Sinacore said that the victim’s family was prepared for a trial, but the attention they were receiving from the media prompted the boy’s mother to push instead for a plea bargain. She told the Ocala Star-Banner, "There is no one that wanted to see Debra Lafave serve jail time more than myself." But, she added, the welfare of her son was more important to her than a trial where he would be forced to testify.

At a news conference late Tuesday during which Lafave’s attorney announced that the charges had been dropped, the former teacher told reporters that she has bipolar disorder and is getting treatment. "I have a lot of things in my past that have unfortunately become public," Lafave said. Saying that she is "very remorseful," Lafave added, "I only pray the young man and his family will be able to move on with their lives."