TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A former Florida teacher convicted as a sex offender was granted "appropriate" unsupervised contact with children of family and friends, court records show.
Debra LaFave, who had pleaded guilty to engaging in lewd behavior with a middle school student, sought permission Thursday in a Hillsborough County court for supervised contact with the children, but because she has completed sex offender therapy, state law permits her the more lenient visitation, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported.
In Nov. 2005, LaFave received a sentence of three years of house arrest and seven years of probation after pleading guilty to having sex with a 14-year-old boy at Greco Middle School, the newspaper reported.
Her attorneys said she completed therapy in October. .
"Appropriate contact" for LaFave means not violating the law or the conditions of her probation regarding contact with children, including not having contact with her victim, living near a school, or working with children, the newspaper reported.
"This was another step along the way for Debbie. We're very pleased with the progress she is making," LaFave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons, said.
