Teacher-Sex Outcome Sparks Outrage

(CBS)  Now that state prosecutors have dropped charges against Debra Lafave in Marion County, Fla., it appears the former teacher won't be spending any time in jail for allegedly having sex several times with a 14-year-old student.

On The Early Show Wednesday, CBS News legal analyst and former prosecutor Wendy Murphy called that "jaw-dropping."

Lafave faces three years of house arrest and seven years probation in Hillsborough County, Fla., where she was charged with having sex with the teen in a classroom and her home. She pleaded guilty Nov. 22 to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery under a plea deal there.

In Marion County, she was accused of having sex with the boy in a sport utility vehicle.

The decision to drop the charges was announced hours after a judge rejected a plea deal for Lafave in Marion County.

It means the teen won't have to testify, something his family was pushing for and that prosecutors cited as the main factor in their decision to drop the charges in Marion County.

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Watch RAW video of Lafave's reaction to having the charges against her dropped.

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Murphy calls the development "jaw-dropping from every perspective. This is a woman who literally raped a 14-year-old boy repeatedly. And she wasn't just a woman. Not just an adult. She was his teacher. It sends a terrible message that rape of children is not a very serious crime.

"And, frankly, I think it sends a message that we have a two-tiered justice system, that if you're cute, if you have influence of any kind, you get a walk. Because the people who aren't cute, who are doing these things to kids, they're actually behind bars."

Murphy also sees a kind of reverse sexism at work: "Male teachers raping their 14-year-old students, lots of them are behind bars, because that's exactly where they belong."

She is sharply critical of the prosecutor, saying he's to blame for the charges being dropped and, "The judge here is the hero. The judge said, 'I'm not going to accept a plea bargain where she gets a complete pass.' The prosecutor then just said, 'Well, I'm going to drop the charges.' He has to accept responsibility and, frankly, he should hang his head in shame."

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