Attorney for Lefave Weighs Deal

Details of the offer were not revealed, including whether the ex-teacher would go to prison under the agreement.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer
Published June 17, 2005

TAMPA - Prosecutors have offered a plea deal to Debra Lafave, the former Greco Middle School reading teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student last June.

But her attorney told Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman on Thursday that he wants more time to review the state's "very detailed" 37-page psychological evaluation of Lafave before sitting down with her and her parents to decide whether to accept the deal.

The judge told defense attorney John Fitzgibbons and prosecutor Mike Sinacore to return to court July 18, the day Lafave's trial is scheduled to begin. By then, both attorneys said, they will know whether they can resolve the case with a plea bargain or whether they will go forward with a trial they had hoped to avoid.

Sinacore did not reveal details of the plea deal. Fitzgibbons would not say whether the state's offer includes prison time for Lafave, who is charged in Hillsborough with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery. Both are second-degree felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison for each count.

Fitzgibbons did say the state's offer would resolve Lafave's charges in two counties, Hillsborough and Marion, where she also faces two counts of lewd and lascivious battery along with one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition involving the same teen.

In Hillsborough, Lafave, 24, is accused of having sex with the teenager in her townhome and at Greco Middle School. In Marion, authorities say she and the boy had sex in the back of her silver SUV while the teen's cousin, 15, drove them around Ocala.

Fitzgibbons and Sinacore have both said they would rather avoid a trial, given the anticipated the intense media interest and the stress and embarrassment it could cause for the student, who would be called to testify.

At issue are two opposing psychological evaluations of Lafave. Fitzgibbons' psychologist says she has "issues," and the lawyer is pursuing an insanity defense. He said his psychologist concluded, "Debbie is ill."

The state's psychologist concluded Lafave was not insane when the alleged acts occurred, Sinacore said. Neither evaluation is being released to the public.

------

Pull up the article and take the poll on the right-hand side below her pic. When I voted, it was 60% saying no, she should not spend time in jail.

His boys should've let him know. One of them probably tagged her.

Pam Rogers was a pretty teacher (and former wcw miss nitro) in tennessee that hooked up with a student, too, earlier this year. 13 yr old boy.

these kids must have massive egos now. i can't imagine having sex at 13.

Pamela Rogers and her estranged husband

According to stats at www.badjocks.com, there have been over 100 cases publicized this school year of teacher/coach and student sex.

And they only count when a coach or athlete is involved.

LaFave Rejects Plea Deal because she is "too hot" for prison..

TAMPA - A prosecutor and defense attorney stood in court on Monday to say they could not come to a pre-trial deal in the case of Debra Lafave, the Greco Middle School teacher accused of having sex with her 14-year-old student.

``Negotiations have broken off and now it's going to trial,'' defense attorney John Fitzgibbons said after the hearing. ``It's time to tee it up.''

Judge Wayne Timmerman set a trial date for Dec. 5. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

If convicted, Lafave, 24, could face up to 15 years in prison on each of two charges of lewd and lascivious battery.

Fitzgibbons said the prosecution's plea deal involved ``significant prison time'' and he found that unacceptable.

``To place Debbie into a Florida state women's penitentiary, to place an attractive young woman in that kind of hell hole, is like putting a piece of raw meat in with the lions,'' Fitzgibbons said.


for full article....
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBCF7YVABE.html

I went to the wrong schools.

Wow.....I wonder if they'll get married in a few years?

Update!
 

A deal has been reached. The article is not posted yet, but the blurb so far is:

No jail for LaFave
The former middle school teacher will serve a total of three years of community control followed by seven years of probation as part of a plea agreement announced today. The prosecution cited the victim's family, saying "they wanted this case over with."

ETA: They just posted the article.

Re: Update!
 

Interesting. I wonder how the sentencing would have played out had she been a male teacher that engaged in sexual acts with a teenage girl.

Try Columbia:

Columbia U. students plan to party "like the savages we really are"

They'll be doing it in the nude. A young man who attended an earlier no-clothes party says: "It was surprisingly comfortable. Most of the people were quite comfortable. Everyone was pretty mature about it. I don't think anything inappropriate went on. ... People were definitely networking, but there wasn't anything bad going on." (New York Sun)

Hmm...
 

In today's article covering this story, it mentions that when she was in high school, she had a female lover. I don't think anyone had mentioned it in this thread, so I was kind of shocked to read it.

Details of Lafave's past and the student's experiences with her became clearer Tuesday afternoon after the State Attorney's Office released hundreds of pages of documents that could have been aired at trial. The papers include interviews with Lafave's former husband, Kristian Owen Lafave, 27, as well as a woman she dated in high school and a co-worker.

Some supported Fitzgibbons' claims about her battle with mental illness and the trauma she suffered when she was raped at 13.

Lafave's former East Bay High schoolmate and lover, Casie Diana Martinez, told prosecutors that the teenage Lafave had struggled with her sexuality and self-image.

"Really, that was from her mom pressuring her to a music career and trying to fit that mold of being thin, being a star, you know, fitting that role of being on stage," Martinez said.

Two of the past 3 weddings I've been to in Florida involved khaki's (past discussion).

I could have sworn when I was in high school there was a female teacher at Leon High School that also had an affair with a teenager...I'll try and look it up...

Re: Re: Update!
 

I agree with you. I don't think that she should go to jail, and I consider even this sentence way too harsh . . but if it was a guy . . I think he would spent a good portion of his life behind bars.

Teacher-student sex plea deal rejected
 

Thursday, December 8, 2005; Posted: 10:14 p.m. EST (03:14 GMT)

(CNN) -- A judge in Marion County, Florida, on Thursday rejected a proposed plea deal for Debra Lafave, who pleaded guilty in another county to having sex with a 14-year-old student while she was a teacher.

"The agreement went below the guidelines, and I'm not willing to go below the guidelines," Judge Hale Stancil told CNN, without elaborating.

The trial in Marion County for the 25-year-old former reading teacher is set for April 10.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/08/te...sex/index.html

~~~~~

Let's see if she gets off as easy in this trial.

Re: Teacher-student sex plea deal rejected
 

Did she get off easy in the suv?


I'm sorry, I had to.

Re: Re: Teacher-student sex plea deal rejected
 

LOL - with a kid that young I doubt it.

*you must be rubbing off on me* :p