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Details Of Accusations Against Teacher Revealed
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Published: April 3, 2008
Sharing an elevator ride at Davidsen Middle School with a 14-year-old student, teacher Stephanie Ragusa told the boy he was shy and she could break him of that, an affidavit states.
Stephanie Ragusa
That bit of flirting led to late night phone chats, secret meetings and to them having sex three times between January and May 2007, investigators said in a search warrant affidavit filed last month by a Hillsborough County sheriff's detective.
The affidavit says Ragusa had sex with the boy when the he was supposed to be at school, while his parents were sleeping and when he was supposed to be at an eighth grade dance.
The boy told investigators that during the elevator conversation he agreed to go to her apartment instead of him staying on campus for an after-school program.
At the apartment, Ragusa performed oral sex on the boy and they had intercourse, the affidavit said. She took him back to the school in time for the teen to be picked up by a parent.
Over the next several weeks, Ragusa called the boy on his cell phone, the affidavit said. During a conversation when his parents were sleeping, they agreed he would sneak out and she would pick him up around the corner from his home.
In the back seat of her silver Lexus sport utility vehicle, Ragusa again performed oral sex on him and they had intercourse, the affidavit said.
The last time they met privately, Ragusa took the teen to a party and drove him to Gant Road, where they had sex in her Lexus, the affidavit said.
Ragusa co-taught one of the boy's classes, according to school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe.
She started working for the school district in 2006 at Madison Middle School in South Tampa, district officials said. She voluntarily transferred midyear to Davidsen in Westchase. Most recently, Ragusa was a math teacher at Martinez Middle School in Lutz.
The boy, now 15, is not being identified by authorities because he is considered a victim of a sex crime.
Detectives monitored a phone call between the student and Ragusa in which she acknowledged having sex with him, the sheriff's office said.
She was arrested March 13 on five counts of lewd and lascivious battery. Court records show that on March 28, prosecutors did not file information on two of those charges.
The sheriff's office has said it continues to look for additional victims.
Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or mwells@tampatrib.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( crumbsnatcher23 ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
WOW!!
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Posted by ( joeyg ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Ragusa's husband got the worst of it. Not only did his wife cheat on him, but with a 14yr old. THat must SUCK! A real BLOW to his confidence. He really got SCREWED on this one.
I wonder if her husband changes radio stations when the SEX IN THE LEX song comes on.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:39 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
You know, kids grow up so fast. One minute, they're playing with Lincoln Logs, the next minute they're having sex with a teacher in the back of her Lexus..................
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Posted by ( northfla ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:41 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
If all this is true, she is going to need to be awfully pretty to stay out of jail on this one.
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Posted by ( Wolf_Moon ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:43 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
The only thing that suprises me about all of these teacher/student affairs is that they are almost all women. When I was in high school a lot of students knew of a few teachers who were messing around with students, the difference was that the teachers were male and the students were female. I am sure most of these students knew exactly what they were doing, whether they were mentally capable of understanding the gravity of the situation or not. The teachers are the ones you would think to have more common sense than to go after a student, if only on the fact that they are minors.
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Posted by ( canegirl85 ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:44 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
OK, teachers, are you reading this? You will get caught if you sleep with your students. One it makes you a pedophile and you should be treated as such. Two, these kids are not going to keep your secret. Learn from your fellow teachers' mistakes and have sex with non-students over the age of 18.
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Posted by ( dhendrix99 ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:50 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
wish i met those kind of sexy teachers when i was in school , i would have been a happy student , set her free and give her a bonus
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Posted by ( Claylisa ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:51 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Sex in the Lex...that's funny.
She needs Proactiv though.
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Posted by ( phil ) on April 3, 2008 at 1 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
where was she when I was 14???? dam!
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Posted by ( Phenom ) on April 3, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Hi there teacher lady. So yeah, I got some crackers...and a bed. You can stay as long as you'd like...I can even act 14 if need be....
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Posted by ( apmatssim ) on April 3, 2008 at 1:35 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
she had better to to prison for a LOOOOONG time!
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Posted by ( jbsteel ) on April 3, 2008 at 5:29 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
joeyg get your fact's straight. Stephanie Ragusa is not married. Do you ever tell the truth when you post?
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Posted by ( jwoodard ) on April 4, 2008 at 12:20 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
""""jbsteel""""" ragusa bought a house with tony william irvin at 15324 lake belle vista,,,maybe they are wed and maybe not.....just some straight facts from an investagative reporter,,,,,,,
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Posted by ( spidyfan ) on April 4, 2008 at 9:49 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
The affidavit is public record. The news is biased in their reporting. The boy initially stated that he had never been to Ragusa's apartment and nothing sexual ever happened between them. Mid-way thru his story changes. And he then strangely "recalls" sexual encounters on "undetermined days". Sounds iffy. I apologize kid, but you better have your story straight if someone might go to prison. It's impossible to confirm someone's whereabouts on unknown dates. And there are no phone records to accompany the supposed late night conversations. I think there is more to this story than is accurately reported.
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Posted by ( spidyfan ) on April 4, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Oh, and this 8th grade dance business, the boy states in the affidavit that he "wasn't allowed to attend"...well that makes sense since reports say he was a 7th grader. I feel that we, the public, are totally being fed incorrect information and are asked to take it as gospel. Before anymore of an outcry is made over public education & teacher sex scandals, lets be sure that reporters do their jobs & accurately report the facts. I'm a layman, and I found contradictions easily.
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Posted by ( jwoodard ) on April 4, 2008 at 1:57 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
SPIDYFAN
THE LAW LISTENED IN TO A CALL BETWEEN
TEACHER & BOY WHERE SHE ACKNOWLEDGED
SEXING WITH HIM
HOW MANY HAMMERS DOES YOUR HEAD NEED?
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Posted by ( spidyfan ) on April 4, 2008 at 3:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
jwoodard:
Funny, there is no court order on file for a monitored or controlled phone call... There would be records of this call IF it were lawfully monitored. Idk. This alleged tape may not even exist or be admissible. The arrest reports being released seem to tell a different story. I'm not taking sides, but the story runs deeper than the media is leading us to believe.
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Posted by ( jwoodard ) on April 6, 2008 at 1:12 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
spidyfan
where do you go to look for these court
orders? do you go to the court house?
or on the internet? it takes a chunk
of time for info to get on the internet,,,there may be some reason she gets off but they would not charge her if they were not sure of their facts
cause she could rip them a new one on false arrest......cops ain't that stupid
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Posted by ( spidyfan ) on April 8, 2008 at 9:42 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
She plead NOT GUILTY.(Even after her and her legal team likely saw the state's evidence against her). Must be a weaker case than once thought.
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