Debra Lafave - Arrest and Trial

Arrest and Trial

Tampa county district attorney's office pursued the case after being notified by the 14-year-old boy's mother. Officers tape-recorded conversations between Lafave and the boy, then arrested her at their next meeting. Two separate sets of charges were filed, because the alleged incidents occurred in two different counties. A trial date was set after the defense would not agree on a plea bargain that involved prison time.

Shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin, the boy's mother learned that it was to be covered by Court TV and agreed to a plea bargain with no prison time in order to avoid her young son having to testify in court. Lafave pleaded guilty under the agreement and was sentenced to three years of Community Control (house arrest), seven years of probation, and forced to register as a sex offender, along with various other requirements. There was widespread skepticism as to whether a man guilty of lewd or lascivious battery would have received similar treatment.

On December 8, 2005, the judge in the second county refused to accept plea-agreement terms that included no prison time and set a trial date for April 10, 2006. The prosecutor in that case later dropped the charges.