When the 14-year-old student told his cousin that a "hot teacher" at his Tampa, Fla., middle school liked him, his cousin didn't believe it. So the student decided to prove it. He arranged for the two to meet reading teacher Debra LaFave one day in June, according to a police affidavit. They drove around in her SUV and bought smoothies. Then LaFave, 23, ceded the wheel to the cousin and repaired to the back seat with the student. According to the affidavit, "she moaned a couple of times, then laughed at something." When LaFave later made a pit stop, the affidavit reads, the student exclaimed to his cousin: "It was awesome."
But the alleged dalliance didn't last long. Once the boy's mother learned about it, she called the police, who taped two calls he placed to the teacher and elicited his descriptions of some of her unique physical traits. He also told the cops, according to the affidavit, that she suffered from "sexual inadequacy problems" in her year-old marriage and was "turned on" by a taboo tryst with a boy. Two weeks ago LaFave was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior, which could each carry a 15-year sentence. She's now on administrative leave and will likely be suspended. (LaFave's attorney declined comment.)
If she's convicted, LaFave will join a roster of transgressing teachers like Mary Kay Letourneau, who gave birth to two kids she had with a former sixth-grader in Seattle. That list may be longer than you'd expect. A report released by the Department of Education last week found that 6.7 percent of K-12 students reported that they had been the victims of sexual misconduct of a physical nature by school employees. A spokesman for the National Education Association calls the study "important" but potentially "alarmist," and insists that schools have "extensive procedures" to protect children.
It's unclear what kind of screening LaFave underwent. At 18, she posed in a bikini with a motorcycle for Makes & Models magazine. In her short career, she received glowing reviews. "Debbie is a mature and professional young woman," wrote her internship supervisor in 2002. "She will be an asset to any school!" Unfortunately, it looks like she brought the wrong sort of assets.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
