Debra Lafave Gets No Jail

(Tampa, Florida) Debra Lafave pleaded guilty today to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery for having sex with a schoolboy. She originally planned to plead insanity but was encouraged to accept a plea deal with the stipulation that she would not go to jail. Lafave was facing a possible 15 years in prison on each charge if she went to trial. But there will be no trial and she gets no jail.

People should reject the delusion that Lafave's sentence is having the punishment fit the crime. She regularly had sex with a student with total disregard for the law and absolute refusal to exercise her responsibilities as a teacher. Justice has not been served.

In accepting the terms of the plea agreement, Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman sent a message to all female teachers in the United States that it's okay to play with schoolboys' pee-pees because there will be no hint of harsh punishment. The prosecution folded and weakly blamed it on their desire to shield the victim's family from intense media pressure. As a result, the district attorney sent a signal to the media indicating that news-magnet attractive teachers will not be vigorously prosecuted for sex crimes.

Most troubling about the Lafave sentence is that it's only one of many. Just yesterday, Sandra "Beth" Geisel was given a hand slap and a hug from the judge for apparently trying to have sex, one by one, with the entire male student body. Last week, English teacher Elizabeth Stow got one year for having sex with three students and it appears she's going to be able to serve it under house arrest. Sadly, there are many more examples where courts consider women playing with boys no more serious than a traffic citation.

Am I being too harsh? I don't think so. Change their names from Debra, Sandra, and Elizabeth to Tom, Dick, and Harry. Have Tom, Dick, and Harry run loose through a school, engaging in sex with girls in their classes. Would Tom, Dick, and Harry get a hand slap and a hug?

And, have the guts to face the fact that female teachers in the U.S. will regard these verdicts as indicators of permission to engage in sexual freelancing among the student body. Furthermore, every teen boy with a woody will be fortified by these cases in pursuing intimate ambitions with weak-willed female teachers.

Previous Posts:

09/20/05 - Judge Blocks Lafave Photos

09/14/05 - Lawyer Wants Lafave Genitalia Photos Blocked

07/18/05 - Plea Negotiations Break Down in Debra Lafave Case

06/16/05 - Debra Lafave Offered Plea Deal

05/20/05 - Debra Lafave Pretrial Hearing

12/02/04 - Debra Lafave Was Crazy During Sex

08/04/04 - Debra Beasley Lafave Pleads Not Guilty to More Charges

06/29/04 - Teacher Arrested For Sex With Boy, 14

Also covering:
Conservative Thinking,
Diggers Realm,
The Education Wonks,
The Jawa Report,
Wizbang.


[Update 12/09/05]

Judge Hale Stancil rejected a plea agreement presented to resolve charges against Debra Lafave in Marion County. An April 10, 2006, trial date has been established. See followup post.


[Update 03/09/06]

Judge Stancil postpones Lafave's sentencing in Marion County.