Sex Scandal Finds New Life On TV

By ROD CARTER News Channel 8 and ANTHONY McCARTNEY The Tampa Tribune

Published: Sep 15, 2006

TAMPA - No one got their say in court in the Debra Lafave sex scandal, so many of the case's key players have taken to the airwaves.

Interest in Lafave's case flared up this week after the 26-year-old former teacher said in an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer that her victim was the pursuer.

On Thursday, the mother of the boy she had sex with appeared on MSNBC to rebut Lafave's claims, calling some of them "outright lies."

The mother, appearing in silhouette to conceal her identity, said Lafave failed to show remorse during her interview.

"She was absolutely the aggressor, not my son," she said.

"She has never been remorseful, and that's been clear from day one."

Lafave was charged with lewd and lascivious battery and exhibition charges in Hillsborough and Marion counties in 2004 for separate incidents in which she had sex with the student, then 14.

During her interview with Lauer, which aired Wednesday on the "Today" show and "Dateline NBC," Lafave said she did not feel like an adult at the time and she "crossed the line that never should've been crossed."

"He wanted it, and yeah I gave it to him," she told Lauer.

She described an incident in which she said the boy held her against the wall of her classroom and lifted her shirt.

Mike Sinacore, the assistant state attorney who would have prosecuted Lafave's case if a plea deal had not been worked out, dismissed the former teacher's claims.

"She relentlessly pursued him," Sinacore said. He urged people who saw Lafave's interview to take her statements with "a grain of salt."

Lafave's case ended in March when judges in Marion and Hillsborough counties agreed to place her on house arrest and brand her a sex offender.

The settlement was requested by the teenager's family, who wanted to spare him the media scrutiny of testifying at Lafave's trial.

In her interview, Lafave contended that although she committed a sex crime, she is not a sex offender.

The boy's mother disagreed Thursday: "Sex offenders come in all shapes and sizes."

Sinacore said the teen's mother was upset by Lafave's interview and called him while it was airing Wednesday night.

Both expressed disappointment that Lafave didn't accept more responsibility.

"I was bothered by the fact that she blew an opportunity to acknowledge responsibility and to give the victim's family some peace of mind," Sinacore said.

Lafave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons, said he thought Lafave's interview accomplished two things: giving her side of the story and informing people about bipolar disorder, which she says contributed to her actions.

Fitzgibbons said he and Lafave were satisfied with how the interview was presented by "Dateline."

One of the final salvos Thursday came from Lafave's ex-husband, Owen, who appeared on CNN Headline News' "Nancy Grace" show to promote his book, "Gorgeous Disaster," and talk about the case.

He agreed with his ex-wife's assertion to Lauer that she should "be in jail."

He filed for divorce shortly after Lafave's arrest.

The teen's mother said her son is doing well and that she does not regret the case's outcome, only Lafave's comments since then.

"I have no regrets with the plea deal," she said. "This will follow her forever."

Reporter Anthony McCartney can be reached at (813) 259-7616.