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Charges Dropped Against Florida "Sex Teacher"

Florida state prosecutors are dropping charges against a teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student. The decision comes after a judge rejected a plea deal that would have given Debra Lafave three years of house arrest and seven years probation. Lafave will not have to go on trial and the victim will avoid having to testify. There were reports that both the prosecution and defense wanted the judge to accept the deal to spare the boy further harm.

A psychiatrist told the judge that the teen suffered extreme anxiety from the media attention and did not want to testify. But Marion County Circuit Judge Hale Stancil says, "Quite frankly, if the allegations against the defendant are true, the agreed-upon sentence shocks the conscience of this court," Marion County charged the 25-year-old teacher with having sex with the boy in a sport utility vehicle. She is also charged in Hillsborough County of having sex with the teen in a classroom and at her house.

Lafave pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery in Hillsborough County on Nov. 22. Prosecutors had apparently been planning to drop the charges against Lafave for several weeks. Assistant State Attorney Richard Ridgway says, "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 says at a news conference that she is undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder.