Photo: Volusia County Sheriff’s Office
A married Florida middle school teacher has pleaded guilty to having sex with a 14-year-old male student and sending nude photos to him, according to multiple reports.
Stephanie Peterson, 27, faces between five and 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of lewd or lascivious battery sex act with a child, a second-degree felony. If the case had gone to trial, she could have faced up to 15 years in prison.
Peterson was arrested after the teen revealed the relationship to his parents. Police said the sexual relationship began in November 2017. The boy, an eighth grader, had been her student the previous year, Sheriff Mike Chitwood toldClick Orlandolast February.
Peterson also bought the teen marijuana and bowls for smoking it, according to the documents, though she was not ultimately charged with the drugs.
The student said that his grades began to suffer after their relationship started. He also said Peterson told him they had to keep their relationship secret.
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“I hate you,” she wrote to the student, according to the court documents. “So much.”
Then she wrote, “Please tell her it was the worst decision of my life and I know it was and idk where my brain was but that I somehow fell in love with you briefly and idk why and I’ll never be the same person because of it.”
Then she pleaded with the boy: “Delete everything.”
A sentencing date has not yet been set. The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation to help reach a decision.
Peterson’s attorney did not immediately return PEOPLE’s call for comment
source: people.com
