Judge won't punish teacher in sex case

A former teacher who admitted having sex with a middle school student violated her probation by talking with a 17-year-old co-worker about sex, but will face no additional penalties, a judge ruled Thursday.

Circuit Judge J. Rodgers Padgett found Debra Lafave violated her probation by having the conversation, but he said her transgressions were neither "willful nor substantial."

Lafave, 27, discussed her personal life and other subjects with a teenage waitress at a restaurant where they both worked last month, according to a Department of Corrections report. One of the terms of her probation had been that she was not allowed to have unsupervised contact with any minors without permission.

The department will continue to monitor Lafave, Padgett ruled. Prosecutors declined to comment on Padgett's ruling.

Lafave is serving three years' house arrest and seven years' probation after pleading guilty to having sex with the 14-year-old boy in a classroom and her home in June 2004. Her case became tabloid and media fodder because she had recently been married and had posed in skimpy outfits in modeling photo shoots.

Lafave smiled and pumped her fist after hearing the judge's ruling. Lafave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons, said authorities were targeting his client because she was within days of completing two years of supervised release.

Assistant State Attorney Mike Sinacore said in court that Lafave knew she was violating the terms of her supervision by talking with the girl, and said Lafave had been warned a year before her re-arrest.