Debra Lafave's Kevo

Debra Beasley Lafave (born Debra Jean Beasley on August 28, 1980) of Riverview, Florida, was a reading teacher at Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, Florida, and was charged with several counts of having illegal sex with a minor in Hillsborough County, Florida and Marion County, Florida. The Hillsborough County Board of Education first put Lafave on administrative duty, then suspended her later in July.

During the pretrial hearings, Lafave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons told the judge he needed more time to interview witnesses and review doctors' reports. He also told the judge he would be entering plea negotiations with the state to prevent the case from going to trial. "I think there would be a lot of advantages (of the plea bargain) for both the prosecution and the defense to resolve this case without a trial."

According to prosecutors, Lafave met the 14-year-old student during a school trip, and had intercourse with him in her classroom, in her home, and in her car. In the last instance, the boy's 15-year-old cousin was driving Lafave's vehicle near Ocala, Florida, while they had intercourse in the back seat. The cousin later reported the activity to the police. The county sheriff's office says that the minor identified a butterfly and Chinese characters tattooed on Lafave's body. Several media outlets have claimed Lafave was unhappy with her less-than-a-year-old marriage with Kristian Owen Lafave (aged 26) and had intercourse with the unnamed minor because "having sex with him was forbidden." Lafave legally returned to her maiden name following her divorce in 2005.

On July 18, 2005, Judge Wayne Timmerman set a trial date for December 5 at a court hearing after the prosecution and the defense could not agree on a plea bargain. After the hearing, defense attorney John Fitzgibbons was quoted as saying, "Negotiations have broken off and now it's going to trial. It's time to tee it up." The prosecution's plea deal involved prison time and the defense 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.

In September 2005 it was revealed that the Temple Terrace, Florida, police ordered photographs be taken of Lafave's genital area while her feet were bound up in stirrups. The officer who ordered the photos was later charged with soliciting a prostitute and downloading pornography at work. He resigned after also being caught trying to cover up his actions on police department computers.

On November 22, 2005, she pleaded guilty to a single count and was sentenced to three years of Community Control (house arrest) and seven years of probation. Additionally, Judge Timmerman placed several restrictions on Lafave intending to keep her from profiting financially off of the case.

On December 8, 2005, a Marion County judge rejected the plea deal and set a trial date for April 10, 2006 [1]. A second plea deal was rejected on March 21, 2006, and the charges in Marion County were dropped by prosecutors, who explained that the victim did not wish to testify and forcing the issue would only generate more undue publicity. In addition, another trial would likely have accrued no additional punishment than what LaFave is already serving. LaFave attributed her indiscretions to bipolar disorder. Though this organic mental illness is associated with hypersexuality and poor judgment during manic episodes, there is no scientific basis whatsoever for a direct causal relationship between bipolar disorder and ephebophilia; however considerable evidence exists linking bipolar disorder with an often catastrophic loss of impulse control leading to criminal behaviour.