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Lafave Realized Violation, Report Says

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By CHRIS ECHEGARAY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 6, 2007

Updated: 12/06/2007 01:11 am

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TAMPA - Debra Lafave knew discussing sex with a 17-year-old co-worker would get her in trouble, according to probation case notes released Wednesday.

Debra Lafave

Lafave, 27, the former teacher who pleaded guilty two years ago to having sex with a 14-year-old student, and her co-worker spoke about specific sexual acts with their boyfriends, according to the records.

Lafave told the girl that "they should not be talking," the report states.

The conversations took place at Danny Boy's, a restaurant in Sun City Center where they worked as waitresses.

Because of those conversations, officials determined Lafave violated conditions of her probation.

Lafave, a former teacher at Greco Middle School, was arrested Tuesday at her mother's barbershop in Ruskin. Lafave was released on her own recognizance, and faces the possibility of going to prison.

Lafave pleaded guilty Nov. 22, 2005, to charges that she committed lewd and lascivious battery by having sex with a student. She is not to have any unsupervised contact with minors, according to the rules of her house arrest.

Under the terms of Lafave's plea deal, she was to spend three years on house arrest, then seven on sex-offender probation.

The 17-year-old told investigators and Lafave's probation officer that she confided in Lafave during a period of one year to a year and a half, according to probation records. Sometimes, the conversations involved other employees.

The probation records state that the two developed a friendship and had conversations about family, friends, problems, work and sex, the teen told investigators.

The 17-year-old's mother told investigators she knew about Lafave being a sex offender and working at the same job as her daughter. However, the mother said she was unaware of the content in the conversations between her daughter and Lafave, records show.

"I haven't had an opportunity to read the notes but I have a feeling there is a lot more to this story than the Department of Corrections is saying," Lafave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons, said Wednesday.

Prompting the investigation was Lafave's lack of cooperation in providing answers to her probation officer, the Department of Corrections said. A spokeswoman would not give details about the questions Lafave was asked.

At her probation officer's instruction, Lafave quit working at Danny Boy's on Nov. 20. A manager has said Lafave was a model employee.

Efforts to reach the 17-year-old and her mother were unsuccessful.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause contributed to this report. Reporter Chris Echegaray can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or cechegary@tampatrib.com.

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