Crossing the line

Debra Lafave: It was nerve-wracking still.  Because I really, honest to God I battled with—should I go? 

Matt Lauer: So you actually thought, “Should I go to prison?"

Lafave: Yeah, pay a debt.  I mean, look, I did this. 

If convicted, schoolteacher Debra Lafave faced up to 30 years in prison for having sex with a 14- year-old student.  Her lawyer planned an insanity defense—but he knew a trial would be risky.

John Fitzgibbons, Lafave's lawyer: It was clear that there were a lot of people that felt there was no crime here.  And, conversely, there were some people that felt it was a horrific crime.

The case ground through the courts for nearly two years.  Debra’s husband Owen divorced her. 

She got engaged to a childhood sweetheart named Andrew Beck. 

Finally, in November, 2005, her lawyer cut a deal with prosecutors in Tampa.  Debra would plead guilty to lewd and lascivious battery, but be sentenced to house arrest.  No jail time.

There were still charges pending in Ocala—and the judge there rejected a plea deal—saying her crime demanded she do time.  He scheduled a trial.

But then—a big surprise.

Lafave: My lawyer, John, called me.  And he said, “They dropped the charges.”  I was like, “What?”  “They dropped the charges, the state dropped the charges.”

The victim’s mother had told prosecutors she did not want her son to have to testify—did not want to put a teenage boy under the hot lights that followed Debra Lafave everywhere.

Fitzgibbons: I think, ultimately, the media intensity was a benefit to us. 

Infamy has its privileges.

Lafave:  I called my fiancé and I was crying and ecstatic.  First I called him crying because they rejected the deal.  And then I called him crying because I was so happy.  It was just like two extremes.

(At a news conference) Lafave: The past two years have been hard for all parties involved.  I pray with all my heart that the young man and his family will be able to move on with their lives.

Lauer: You’ve talked with me at length about the experience you had with rape in middle school. And the impact that has had on your life and your relationships.  So how is what happened to you different than what you did to this 14-year-old boy?

Lafave: I think first my rape was a violent rape.

Lauer: So because yours was not a violent rape of this student, you think that’s a big difference?

Lafave: Well, it’s a difference.  I don’t know if it’s a big difference.  You know, a 14-year-old ten years ago is different than a 14-year-old today.

Lauer: Not in the eyes of the law.

Lafave: Right.  Not in the eyes of the law. He consented, but I should have been the one to say, “Look.  You are a kid. And this is not a good idea, whether you want it or not.”

Lauer: You should have said it on a number of occasions.

Lafave: Oh yeah.

Lauer: You should have said it when you first started flirting with him.

Lafave: Yeah.

Lauer: And you clearly should have said it before you had sex with this young man.

Lafave: Clearly.

Lauer: How do you think this is gonna impact his life?

Lafave: I think he’s gonna have a hard time trusting women one day.  I’m sure he has to be living with the guilt of “ratting me out.” 

Lauer: By court order, you cannot have any contact with him?

Lafave: No.

Lauer: What would you say to him if you could see him?

Lafave: Oh, God.  I don’t—I don’t even think about him.  And  I definitely would apologize.  I mean, I don’t have anything to say to him.  I don’t have any harsh words or even good words.

Debra’s now on medication to treat bipolar illness.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, she’ll be under house arrest for the next three years on intensive probation for another seven.  She’s not allowed to leave home except for work and essential errands.  She’s a registered sex offender, who’s not allowed to work with children or live within a thousand feet of a school.  She wears an electronic ankle bracelet—her every movement tracked.

Lauer: How long do you have to wear it?

Lafave: My probation officer foresees it being the whole 10 years. I’ve kind of gotten used to it.

But house arrest also includes a fenced yard and a swimming pool. 

Lafave: You know I just find a lot of comfort, I’ve planted flowers, and butterflies come to my garden.

It sure beats the alternative of 30 years in jail.

Lauer: You know, you hear some people say, “She should be in prison.”  That if the roles were reversed, and if you were a man who was 24 and had sex with a 13- or 14-year-old girl, you’d be in prison.  How do you feel about that?

Lafave: I think I should be in jail.

Lauer: You think you should be?

Lafave: Yeah.  By the standards, you know, what I did, that’s the law, I should have got jail time.

In the end, even the notorious teacher herself does not know if justice was served.

Lauer: So what is the one thing you want people to know about you?

Lafave: That I committed a sex offense.  But I’m not a sex offender, even though I’m labeled as that.   I made a really, really, really bad choice. 

Lauer: You don’t see yourself as a predator?

Lafave: It’s hard.  It is so hard because I lived 23 years of my life, knowing who I was.  I was a kindhearted person who loved children, who would never, you know, do anything to break the law.  I was a good person.  And then now everything has just changed.  So it’s just really hard for me to accept that.

By law, Debra Lafave can't profit from her crime, so she can't sell the rights to her story, and has no plans to write a book about the case. She's currently working as a waitress.

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