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Lafave's Plea Deal Rejected

By BEN MONTGOMERYand JEFF PATTERSON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Dec 9, 2005

OCALA - A judge in Marion County determined Thursday that Debra Lafave, the former Tampa teacher who had sex with a 14-year-old student, should be tried for the crime.

Circuit Judge Hale Stancil rejected a plea deal reached between the Marion County state attorney and Lafave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons.

"The court is not going to at this time accept the plea that has been presented," Stancil announced in court during a two-minute exchange Thursday. "Unless things change, the court will be inclined to impose the guideline sentence, so I'll set the case for trial on April 10."

That means Lafave could face prison time if convicted of the charges against her - two counts of second-degree lewd or lascivious battery on a person under 16 and one count of second-degree lewd or lascivious behavior by a person 18 or more. The maximum penalty is up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each charge. With Lafave's criminal background, which includes the guilty plea in Hillsborough County, the recommended sentence would be about 16 years total for both charges. Fitzgibbons and Marion County prosecutor Stacy Youmans expressed shock.

The rejection could affect the plea deal in Hillsborough County if Lafave chooses to withdraw the Hillsborough plea, Fitzgibbons said.

"It's way too early to say whether this is a little bump in the road or something major," Fitzgibbons said. "Before we seek to withdraw the plea in Hillsborough County, we want to see what happens in Marion County. We're hopeful it will work out."

Fitzgibbons said the judge "indicated that he wanted some additional expert information relating to the impact that the trial would have on the two young men involved. I anticipate the state will be putting that information together for the judge."

Lafave pleaded guilty to two charges of lewd and lascivious battery in Hillsborough County last month and was sentenced to three years of house arrest and seven years of sex-offender probation, a deal that had people across the country questioning whether a man would have received similar treatment.

Prosecutors in Hillsborough County, who were in communication with the Marion County state attorney's office, said the plea resolved the Marion County charges.

That was not correct.

Hillsborough Assistant State Attorney Mike Sinacore would not comment on the case Thursday.

"The judge always has the final call on any case, and I can't speak for the judge," Youmans, the Marion County prosecutor, said after the hearing. "The judge just rejected the offer and now the case is back on a trial posture."

The victim's mother asked prosecutors to draw up the deal because she didn't want her son to suffer from any "long-term negative impact" the case would have.

"My son has done his best to proceed with his life, and has made it clear to me that he does not want to testify and wants to resume his life in as normal a manner as possible," she wrote in an affidavit. "It is my request and the request of my son that prosecutors in both Hillsborough and Marion County rescind their earlier position of requiring Florida state prison as part of any plea negotiation."

The mother spoke to the media after the plea deal was approved by a Hillsborough judge.

"There comes a point when I really had to weigh out what my son was going through and how much longer it would continue," said the teen's mother, who is not being identified because her son is an underage sex-assault victim. "I think what we agreed upon is a fair punishment."

The woman could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Lafave and the boy first had sex in a portable classroom at Greco Middle School in Tampa. They had sex again during a trip to Ocala in June 2004 when the boy's cousin drove Lafave's sport utility vehicle, the teen told police.

The teen's mother found out about Lafave and her son June 17, after a second trip to Ocala, records show. The teen's aunt saw him and Lafave in Ocala and called his mother. Police collected DNA swabs from the teen that matched Lafave.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 5.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause and researchers Buddy Jaudon and Diane Grey contributed to this report. Reporter Ben Montgomery can be reached at (813) 259-7638.

WHAT HAPPENED

IN MARION COUNTY: A judge turned down Debra Lafave's deal with prosecutors to avoid prison by pleading guilty to sex charges.

IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY: Lafave's attorney says the similar plea bargain that was accepted last month might be withdrawn.

WHAT IT MEANS: Lafave is once again facing the possibility of being tried and, if convicted, sentenced to prison.