Well-Being Of Boy Paramount To Parents

By THOMAS W. KRAUSE tkrause@tampatrib.com

Published: Mar 23, 2006

TAMPA - The boy's father doesn't understand the attraction.

Debra Lafave, he said, is not a pretty woman.

"To me, she's a very ugly person," he said. "I feel, maybe, she does have mental health problems, but that's not an excuse. She was in a position of authority."

In November, Lafave, 25, pleaded guilty to Hillsborough County charges that she molested his son, a 14-year-old student at the middle school where Lafave taught English.

The boy's father spoke to The Tampa Tribune on Wednesday morning. Later in the day, the boy's mother spoke to WTVT, Channel 13, with the instructions that the station release the taped interview to all local media.

The Tribune is withholding the parents' names to prevent the identification of their son.

Both interviews show that the couple, who have been divorced since 1998, share a deep love of their son and a concern for his well-being.

The boy's father said he had a "birds and bees" talk with his son before the encounters with Lafave. Since her arrest, they have had other talks about sex, he said. He wants his son to know he should avoid Lafave if she pursues him again.

"It's just wrong," he said.

The man said his son understood and agreed.

Worried About The Future

The boy's mother said she worries about her son's future relationships and how he will react in them. She said she's grateful he has a strong base of family and friends.

"I am so thankful and so blessed that he is doing so well," she said. "I don't take that for granted."

The parents gave interviews the day after prosecutors in Marion County dropped charges of lewd and lascivious battery. Prosecutors had contended that Lafave drove the teen to Ocala, where she had sex with him in the back of her sport utility vehicle.

Lafave is serving three years of house arrest, followed by seven years of probation, after her guilty plea to similar charges here.

A deal where she would have pleaded guilty to the Marion County charges, in exchange for another house arrest sentence, fell through Tuesday when Marion County Circuit Judge Hale Stancil refused to accept it. Stancil said that if the charges were true, Lafave deserved prison.

When the plea deal fell through, prosecutors dropped the charges rather than force the boy to testify at a trial.

Had Lafave been allowed to enter guilty pleas in Hillsborough and Marion counties, any violation of her house arrest or probation would have sent her back to court in both counties.

The boy's mother said she had hoped, should Lafave violate, a Hillsborough judge would give her one sentence and a Marion County judge would give her a second one, possibly giving her jail time. Now, if Lafave violates, only a Hillsborough judge will pass sentence.

The mother said she has heard sex-offender probation is extremely difficult. Should Lafave complete probation with no violations, she probably deserves a second chance, the mother said.

But, she said, she is heartened that prison is still a possibility, should Lafave violate.

Father Appreciates Efforts

The boy's father, who lives in Ocala, said he appreciates everything prosecutors and his ex-wife did for the boy. He also thinks his ex-wife handled the legal aspects of their son's case well.

Still, he said, he wishes Lafave had been sentenced to some time in prison.

The boy's mother agrees but said there was good reason to accept the house-arrest sentence.

As the trial approached, the boy's parents worried about their son testifying. It might have hurt his recovery, they said.

Neither parent knew what to do, the father said. They decided to leave it up to a psychiatrist.

After a 90-minute interview, Martin Lazoritz determined that the boy needed anonymity. A trial, and the publicity it would bring, could damage him, Lazoritz said.

Despite the doctor's opinion, the judge refused to accept the plea deal. He thought the boy should testify.

"He never really considered my son at all," the mother said.

TV Coverage Concerned Mother

Cable television network Court TV was expected to air the trial live, without time delay. Someone, at some point, could accidentally say her son's name, she said. The broadcasters had said they would not hide the mother's identity. That, she said, also would identify her son.

Should the trial have taken place, her son would have been the lead story in the media every day for weeks.

"That would have been so terrible for him," she said.

Although the boy's mother said she prays for Lafave, she said she was shocked to see the former teacher on television, answering reporters' questions and acting as though she were the victim.

"I think she absolutely loves being in front of the camera," the mother said. "I think that's clear."

The boy's father said many people don't understand the true nature of Lafave's crime.

Since her 2004 arrest, some have approached the father and suggested that, with the teacher's good looks, his son wasn't much of a victim.

"I shut it down instantly," he said. "It's terrible that people think that way. ... She picked him out and preyed on him."