» posted on 10:48am - March 22 2006 | posted by Lev

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- State prosecutors said Tuesday they were dropping charges against a former Tampa teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old middle school student.

The decision, announced hours after a judge rejected a plea deal for Debra Lafave, means the victim won't have to testify.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys had urged the judge to accept the deal for the sake of the boy involved. A psychiatrist who examined the teenager told the judge at a previous hearing that the boy suffered extreme anxiety from the media coverage of the case and does not want to testify.

Marion County Circuit Judge Hale Stancil, however, said the lack of prison time for Lafave under the plea deal "shocks the conscience of this court," and he rejected it.

Assistant State Attorney Richard Ridgway, in explaining the decision to drop the charges, said: "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."

Lafave, 25, already faces three years of house arrest and seven years probation in Hillsborough County, where she was charged with having sex with the same boy in a classroom and her home. She pleaded guilty November 22 to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery under a plea deal there.

In Marion County, she was accused of having sex with the boy in a sport utility vehicle.

Lafave said at a news conference later Tuesday that she has bipolar disorder, and her attorney said she was getting treatment.

"I have a lot of things in my past that have unfortunately become public," Lafave said.

Hillsborough County prosecutor Mike Sinacore has said the victim's family had anticipated a trial, but the media attention prompted the boy's mother to push for a plea deal.

"There is no one that wanted to see Debra Lafave serve jail time more than myself," the boy's mother wrote in an e-mail to the Ocala Star-Banner over the weekend. But she said the welfare of her son was more important.

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My two cents: I somehow manage to doubt completely believing this 14 year old kid's position. I find it somewhat hard to believe that nearly any kid at that rage with raging hormones is going to have to be "abused" or have sex extorted from them. Let's be honest and realistic here, the kid did it 5 times with the teacher; if you are really being sexually abused you don't let it go on for that long without doing or saying something unless one thing: you enjoyed it. I think it's appalling that a boy who probably was willing, during the times of the sexual acts, later could turn on her and press charges. Let's think about this physically and logically: who has the ability to rape who? Who's genitals get erect for sexual acts? This just sounds like some other fucker out there who was having a good time with his teacher, word appearantly started getting out, maybe people he didn't want to know started knowing, so it snowballed on him and then he had to play the victim. It's just like a 15 year old girl who willingly has sex with her boyfriend and then they break up so she is bitter and presses charges of "statutory rape" against him. What a load of shit. If he really was "raped" or forced and if he really suffers legitimate psychological trauma, then I feel pity for him. But somehow, I don't buy it all. And please don't come off telling me what the psychologist said. Psychologists are stupid and easy to fool.

What is your opinion of this whole incident? Do you buy all that is being said from the so-called "victim" and his mother? Do you buy the crap Debra is saying about how she is a firm Christian and this was a bump in the road for her? Do you believe she is really bipolar? Do you believe everyone now resorts to lies to defend a position they got themselves into by not acting responsibly and thinking over?

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» posted by: Flavian Greece · date: 11:28am - March 25 2006	rated: N/A
Man, I'm with Lev on this one also, when I had 14 I had quite a few hot sexy teachers I wouldn't mind if they "abused" me... And I'm with Jay Leno: "How they do it? I mean, when I was a kid I couldn't even pick up other girls in class, but the teacher??"
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» posted by: Britt · date: 3:38am - March 24 2006	rated: N/A
first off, it wasn't the boy who 'tattled' it was his cousin. the cousin was the one driving lafaves SUV when they had sex one time in the back, and he went to school and told someone.. and that someone told a teacher/parent. the kid only admitted it because his parents probably forced him into it, made him believe it was dirty or wrong (i think the boy and his family are jewish and believe strongly in it). i believe truely that the kid is probably fucked up from this ordeal. there's a lot of adults doting and saying 'oh, you poor baby, what'd she do to you', while the younger people are going 'you idiot, whyd you say something?'. he's had to switch schools, and he WANTS to play basketball professionally, but after this ordeal, i doubt it'll happen. the kid is known all over in this area. as for her.. i dunno. she was diagnosed before this as bipolar, she was sexually abused while growing up by her father/family friend. she's had lesbian relationships in the past. and her husband also said thatshe often goes through periods of hypersexual activity, and she's had eating disorders too. statistics show that abuse victims sometimes turn into sexual deviants. in all honesty though i'm neutral on the whole thing. for instance, if she hadn't been a teacher, and just a random lady, this wouldn't of escalated like it did. then again, the kid was 14. tons of kids have sex at 14. i don't think it's necessarily right, but it wasn't like he was raped. he consented. which is why i think charges were dropped. ps - the teacher is much prettier now, than in that picture. ~~~~~~~~~~ . i want . i love . i need . i breathe . . i lust . i trust . i cheat . i bleed .
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» posted by: Nemo Metis · date: 2:32pm - March 22 2006	rated: N/A
I agree with you on this one Lev, i believe this is just another load of parents jumping on the 'my kid was abused' bandwagon, which is very sick. I mean, how do some people do this? especially when there are real cases of serious abuse out there that are being ignored because some loudmouth has stolen the attention over a bullshit case. If i were 14 again and she wsa my teacher, I wouldnt have said no, it would have been a case of where? when? but thats just this man's opinion.. ~~~~~~~~~~ I am the human race's worst nightmare. The human race is my worst nightmare. Guess who go the raw end of the deal. Fuck.
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