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Lafave Has Advice For District

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By MARILYN BROWN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 14, 2008

TAMPA - When Hillsborough County School Board members meet today to talk about growing numbers of teachers accused of having sex with students, they may be in for some sage advice.

Owen Lafave, former husband of Debra Lafave, said he has ideas he wants to share. Among them: Institute mandatory training for teachers and give mandatory jail time for those convicted as sex offenders.

In 2004, Lafave's 23-year-old wife Debra Lafave, then a Greco Middle School reading teacher, was arrested after being accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student.

In a case that made national headlines, Debra Lafave entered into a plea bargain and was placed on house arrest for three years, with seven years of probation and was branded as a sex offender.

Owen Lafave filed for divorce after his wife's arrest for lewd and lascivious battery and exhibition, and he later co-authored a book on his experience, "Gorgeous Disaster."

In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer in 2006, Owen Lafave said he agreed with his ex-wife's assertion that she should "be in jail."

Monday, he said that he is working with local legislators to push for mandatory minimum jail time "of at least a year," for people in positions of power such as teachers, priests and counselors convicted as sex offenders.

"You need to punish people accordingly," he said. "You need something to deter it from happening."

Female teachers should not be treated any differently than male teachers accused of misconduct, he said, and male students must be seen as victims and provided more help.

"It's more of a cultural thing," he said. "People just don't see these boys as victims. Psychologically, their development is impacted, even if it isn't manifested until later in life."

All teachers, but especially those in high school, should have the same mandatory training that guidance counselors and psychologists get to help them deal with compromising situations, he said. And, he said, district policy could also be more specific about defining harassment and penalties.

Two other Hillsborough teachers have been accused of having sex with students, Martinez Middle School math teacher Stephanie Ragusa and Freedom High School English teacher Mary Jo Spack. Pasco is dealing with reported sexual misconduct of a female substitute teacher.

School board members called a special meeting for today to talk about what they can do. Invited are representatives from the state attorney's and public defender's offices, and district staff who deal with training and employee misconduct.

All school board policy is under review, Linda Kipley, the district's general manager for professional standards, said Monday.

"We are absolutely going to expand the policies speaking to employees' interaction with each other as well as students," Kipley said.

The district already provides "code of ethics" training, she said, with some employees referred for mandatory one-on-one sessions on appropriate behavior.

Owen Lafave, who has remarried and has two young sons, said he plans to see what board members are thinking before he speaks. Although he still works in commercial real estate, he said he is making a documentary on the subject of teachers and inappropriate behavior with students.

"I'm glad people are finally talking about it, giving it the attention it deserves," he said. "I feel very passionately about it."

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069.

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