Debra Lafave Arrested for Probation Violation

Arguably the teacher-student sex story with the longest legs has been the adventures of Debra Lafave, who was initially arrested and charged two and a half years ago.

The blonde beauty had mixed it up with a 14-year-old boy in a variety of ways, ultimately being prosecuted in two different Florida counties.

In the end, she was sentenced to a hand slap, no jail, only three years house arrest and seven years probation in Hillsborough County Court.

The courts possibly were influenced by the massive public and media interest in the story. To be fair, who could resist the tale of the bombshell teacher, who reportedly was insane when having sex and bipolar, having creative oral sessions with a 14-year-old male student in the back seat of a car as it was driven around central Florida through Hillsborough and Marion Counties by the student's cousin?

The furor died down in March 2006 when prosecutors dropped charges in Marion County against Lafave. Everybody could go home since there was nothing more to see. That is, until yesterday.

Lafave, 27, was arrested at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday on a charge that she violated her probation.

The arrest comes at the end of two years of house arrest, just as her attorney prepared to ask a judge to drop her final year of house arrest and place her on probation instead.

"I can only characterize this as somewhat of a bizarre and unusual violation," attorney John Fitzgibbons said of the charge.

Lafave, according to the charges, had intimate conversations with a 17-year-old co-worker at Danny Boys' Restaurant in Sun City Center, in violation of her sentence that prohibits her from having unsupervised contact with a child under 18.

Lafave and the Ruskin teen discussed "non-work related issues such as family problems, friends, high school, personal life, boyfriend issues and sexual issues in both private one-on-one conversations ... and group settings," probation officer Michael Cotignola wrote in a report.

So, Lafave's probation officer was watching and caught her mingling with at least one minor. On the scale of criminal activity, it's a mere blip but a probation violation nonetheless.

Therefore, Lafave goes back before a judge and she may see additional punishment. Ex-husband Owen Lafave, by the way, thinks she deserves jail time, bitterly stating,

"You know, here is someone who threw away her husband, threw away her career to go live with her parents and work at a deli."

It's not known what happens next but, I guarantee, it will be reported in the news. In the arena of beating dead horses, the Lafave horse has life left in it.


[Update 10/27/09]

Lafave files motion to change terms of probation to allow her to be with kids.

Companion posts at The Jawa Report, here and here.