Debra Lafave back on probation

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TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Former Florida teacher Debra Lafave, convicted of sex with an underage student in 2005, is back on probation, a court ruling she was improperly shown leniency.

After pleading guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery, the former middle school teacher was sentenced to three years' house arrest and seven years' probation, but was released from probation, despite protests from prosecutors and the victim's family, in 2011 by a soon-to-retired judge offering leniency, the Tampa Bay Times reported Thursday.

In August an appellate court ruled the judge's decision was an "abuse of judicial power resulting in a gross miscarriage of justice," reinstating her probation, with authorities scheduling a hearing Thursday in Hillsborough Circuit Court.

In December, the Florida Supreme Court noted Lafave "does not face incarceration, only a return to the probationary terms which she originally agreed upon."