No Shock Here, Teacher Gets Probation in Sex Case

(Sioux City, Iowa) In March 2006, a 38-year-old married mother of three and teacher at Boyden-Hull Community School, Kelli Cuperus, was arrested on sex abuse charges for incidents with a 15-year-old male high school student.

Court documents indicated that Cuperus and the boy had sex 15 to 20 times. Cuperus was charged with felony sex abuse, sexual exploitation by a school employee and lascivious conduct with a minor.

In March 2007, Cuperus pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee in accordance with a plea agreement. In return, charges of sex abuse and lascivious conduct were dropped and prosecutors asked for a suspended sentence.

Last month, Kelly Cuperus, now 39, was divorced from her husband and took the name Kelly DeBoer. She was given custody of her children.

Yesterday in Sioux County District Court, Judge James D. Scott sentenced DeBoer to five years probation after suspending a five-year prison term and ordered her to register as a sex offender. Notably, Judge Scott expressed some reluctance to giving DeBoer probation since she continues to deny responsibility for her actions. Speaking to the court:

"In cases like this when the adult becomes involved with a minor, the adult which is me is presumed to be at fault. In fact that may not always be the truth, but the law says it is," said DeBoer.

So, DeBoer apparently believes she was the victim of the 15-year-old boy's overtures. Nonetheless she gets to walk out of court with no jail.

In summary, a teacher's aide had repeated sex with a 15-year-old student and is sentenced to probation. In between time, a marriage dissolved, DeBoer permanently lost her job and her teaching credentials, three children inherited a broken home and the stigma of having a registered sex offender mother and, also, a teen boy has been psychologically thrown off-center with the possibility of future anomalies in behavior. Additionally, DeBoer must undergo sex offender treatment and is forbidden from contact with any minors except her own children.

In my estimation, DeBoer should have been given some prison time simply because she failed to accept her responsibility for the crimes.


[Update 06/25/07]

Cuperus arrested for probation violation.


[Update 09/21/07]

Cuperus/DeBoer sentenced to four months at a residential treatment facility for probation violation.