Teacher Gets 6 Years In Student Sex Case

Judge, Lawyers Agree Woman's Maturity Level Was About That Of Her 13-Year-Old Student

(AP)  Kelsey Peterson's maturity level wasn't much higher than the sixth-grade students she taught. The 26-year-old teacher who started having sex with a former student when he was 12 wasn't a sexual predator, but she will have to register as a sex offender when she gets out of prison.

That's the verdict of a federal judge, who on Monday sentenced Peterson to six years behind bars for fleeing to Mexico with the boy when he was 13.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp said Peterson's maturity level "seems to be on the level of a junior high school student," and the boy's attorney agreed.

"Twenty-year-olds are not attracted to 12-year-olds - that's just not normal," attorney Amy Peck said. "She viewed herself as younger than she really was and didn't see it as inappropriate."

Peterson told the judge that she took responsibility for what she did, and said she wanted to move on with her life and make it better.

"I am not a sexual predator. That's not who I am," Peterson said.

But the victim, now 14 and starting 8th grade at another school, "is a changed kid," his attorney said.

"He is much quieter now," Peck said. "He's been through a lot."

Peterson was the boy's sixth-grade math teacher at Lexington Middle School during the 2005-06 school year, then started having sex with him in November 2006, according to court documents.

The pair disappeared in October, soon after the district's superintendent confronted Peterson about allegations of an inappropriate relationship with the boy.

She was arrested a week later in Mexicali, Mexico, after the boy made a cell phone call to his mother.

Peterson's lawyer, James Martin Davis, acknowledged that Peterson probably won't ever be able to teach in schools again. She's not off the hook on state charges, either.

In four years, she could be released from federal prison. She's being credited nearly a year for time she's already served., and could get another year off for good behavior.

In the meantime, her attorney said, she's a gifted teacher and hopes to use those skills at a women's prison in Pekin, Ill.

"I think she's got plans to teach math in the prison while she's there," Davis said. "She's already thinking along those lines."

Meanwhile, the boy is living in Nebraska with his family, his attorney said, but she would not say where except that it's not Lexington. She said there's no relationship between the boy and his former teacher, and "I would fully doubt if there will be a relationship in the future."

When Peterson was arrested, the boy "felt that it was my entire fault and felt terribly bad that Kelsey was in jail," he said in a statement provided by Peck.

Peterson "often told me that there was something special about me," he said, and she slipped him love notes after class, gave him beer and let him drive her car.

The Associated Press previously named the boy as police were searching for him but stopped using his name after authorities charged Peterson with a sex crime.

He was an illegal immigrant in the United States when he left with Peterson. He's been granted humanitarian parole by the Department of Homeland Security, and his attorney hopes to win permanent legal status for him and his family.

Davis has publicly questioned the boy's birth certificate, saying he was likely at least 16, and that he was the aggressor.

Peck and the boy's family have bristled at the suggestion, and neither Peterson nor Davis repeated it Monday.

Davis secured a plea deal for Peterson that stipulated a sentence of between 70 months and 87 months. By pleading guilty, she avoided a similar charge that would have carried a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence.

Peterson and her relatives and friends cried as they waved to each other across the courtroom and said, "I love you" after the hearing Monday.

"The next time I see you we can hug each other," she told family members, including her mother and father.

Her attorney says she's just glad it's over, but another chapter is just starting.

Dawson County Attorney Elizabeth Waterman said Monday that her staff will work to get custody of Peterson so she can face the state charges, which include kidnapping, felony sexual assault and child abuse.

"We'll be ready to gear up on ours as soon as we can get custody back," Waterman said.

[slim1h2o]

Oh boy, get some nookie, and at the same time, become an American citizen.

You can''t make this stuff up!

[bob5ford]

She should have killed him, she''d have gotten less time. Really screwed up judicial system we have.

[upto1947]

She goes to jail, he goes away happy. SOmething is wrong here.

[upto1947]

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp said Peterson''s maturity level "seems to be on the level of a junior high school student," and the boy''s attorney agreed.

This is what we have teaching. Then we ask what is wrong with the teacher we have. No way would I send a child of mine to a state run school. Home school. The only way.

[megalodon101]

Ya,....she''ll be teaching people in prison alright, but i highly doubt any of it will have to do with math.

[bob5ford]

My comment was to illustrate the disparity of our sentencing system. Someone convicted of manslaughter, taking a life, usually gets less time in jail then she did. Most drug possession crimes get more then she did. It indicated how little we value our children. Also, if it had been a male molesting a female the sentence would have been much longer. We need uniform sentencing with some reasonable basis. It could be done. To have the subjective system that we do have leaves it possible for a murderer to walk free in a couple of years and a jaywalker to spend life in jail. There is no rhyme or reason to sentences, just whatever mood the judge is in on the day. It''s the biggest travesty in our judicial system today.

[myopinion1]

PROBABLY won''t be able to teach again? Ummmmmm, she raped a 12 year old boy. Gee, maybe she can slip by in SOME state. If her maturity level wasn''t much higher than the boy she raped, then maybe she never should have been given a job as a TEACHER of YOUNG CHILDREN. Honestly, sometimes I wonder about these lawyers who defend these monsters.

[questionnews]

Debra Lafave--Major hottie--Slap on the wrist!

Kelsey Peterson--Plain Jane--Six years behind bars!

I guess if you''re going to rape a little boy, you better look like a Playboy centerfold.

[godseyesore-2009]

Questionnews: Doesn''t sound like rape. Boy wasn''t kidnapped to Mexico. You can bet he open to the relationship and wasn''t innocent little bobby. None of this is to say that she should have done it, nor that she shouldn''t be punished.

[usclimey]

El Centro''s in the middle of nowhere - I would imagine finding teachers there is not easy - but there has to be some sort of qualification neccesary to become a teacher. How does someone with the mental age of a 12-year old pass?

[gop_will_win]

El Centro''''s in the middle of nowhere - I would imagine finding teachers there is not easy - but there has to be some sort of qualification neccesary to become a teacher. How does someone with the mental age of a 12-year old pass?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by usclimey
====================
Its easy if they are female, then they have affirmative action on their side. Then they cant get rid of them because they know they will be sued if they do no matter how incompetant they are.

[rastaman4200]

***...if the roles were reversed and it was a male teacher kidnapping a 12 year old girl they would be trying to fry his ***, or put him in jail for life. But since shes a woman she gets 6 years for raping and kidnapping a child. How screwed up is our system? More Sexism and unfair treatment. This is pathetic and wrong, she should be getting the same sentence as her male counterpart would get. But it figures that the feminists got her off using the same lies they have been using for years to get special treatment while getting mad at men for there supposed special treatment. I am ashamed to live in the same state as the people on that jury, i hope they all sleep well knowing that she will be out in a few years doing the exact same thing.

[rastaman4200]

***...if the roles were reversed and it was a male teacher kidnapping a 12 year old girl they would be trying to fry his ***, or put him in jail for life. But since shes a woman she gets 6 years for raping and kidnapping a child. How screwed up is our system? More Sexism and unfair treatment. This is pathetic and wrong, she should be getting the same sentence as her male counterpart would get. But it figures that the feminists got her off using the same lies they have been using for years to get special treatment while getting mad at men for there supposed special treatment. I am ashamed to live in the same state as the people on that jury, i hope they all sleep well knowing that she will be out in a few years doing the exact same thing.

[jroberts1976]

I don''t think we have heard the whole story, it stated that the boy was an illegal imigrant, also said that the birth certificate was questonable, who really knows how old this kid was. Never the less, she needs to rot in jail.

[musethalia]

I don''''t think we have heard the whole story, it stated that the boy was an illegal imigrant, also said that the birth certificate was questonable, who really knows how old this kid was. Never the less, she needs to rot in jail.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by jroberts1976

if she''s not mentally 26, why is she in jail rather than a mental hospital?
on a side note, the fact that he''s still here ''living w/ his family in Nebraska'' as an illegal speaks volumes - send her to jail, wherever, and send him back to mexico

[musethalia]

AMERICAN WOMEN.

WITHOUT REASON and LACKING ACCOUNTABILITY.

AMERICAN WOMEN.

Posted by smitty448

that is a very uneducated, untrue and ridiculous post

[averjane]

Kelsey Peterson''s maturity level wasn''t much higher than the sixth-grade students she taught. The 26-year-old teacher who started having *** with a former student when he was 12 wasn''t a sexual predator, but she will have to register as a *** offender when she gets out of prison. So this teacher never took child psychology classes or learned the signs of physical and sexual abuse before she became a teacher? Wouldn''t they teach these courses if you''re wanting to become a teacher? The fact that the judge agrees just goes to show you that people can blame something or somebody else for the crime and get away with it. If she still has to register as a *** offender that makes her a pedophile. Either she''s guilty or she isn''t. If she hadn''t gotten caught, you mean she would not have looked for other prey? If she''s not a predator what is she? She''s no different than any man who wants to fiddle around with a little girl, that''s what she is. A dirty girl. Later she''ll be a dirty old woman.

[thevicar1]

Petersons maturity level wasnt much higher than the sixth-grade students she taught - - -


WOW...says a lot for the goobers who are handing out teaching degrees, huh?

[element51]

This case points out how screwed up our judicial system really is. When Debra LaFave got caught she got no jail time. But she was drop dead gorgeous. Now this plain Jane gets 6 years. I''m not defending either one of them, they both screwed up. I taught for 26 years and one of the things that I made an iron clad rule was to never be alone with a female or male student. That way, you can never be accused of something you did not do. And I always felt that the students were more comfortable. But my objective was to teach not look for s e x. I always felt that teachers have to hold themselves to a higher standard in order to set a good example for their students. This woman is clearly mentally challenged. One can complete college and still not be mentally competant. Maybe she should be in a mental hospital instead of a prison. In any event she should never be allowed in a classroom again.

[element51]

brdliksssss....Easy now, listen carefully. The mother ship will be here soon to take you back to your home planet so be very carefull what you to say to the earthlings. Remember to take the pills we gave you to protect yourself from those voices. Take the pills and you won''t have to wear that aluminium hat. Be patient, it won''t be much longer.

[nothappyatall]

"Twenty-year-olds are not attracted to 12-year-olds - that''s just not normal,"

What''s the difference? 8 years, when he is 18 she''ll be 26, obviously she WAS attracted.


"But the victim, now 14 and starting 8th grade at another school, "is a changed kid," his attorney said.
"He is much quieter now," Peck said. "He''s been through a lot."

All the unwanted national publicity and people making a big deal of it all is what made him a VICTIM, not the consentual acts he probably was bragging about to his friends.

[triumph110]

This is happening all over the country. Go to www.schoolteachernews.com and click on the Scandal page. They have documented over 355 of these types of incidents since just the beginning of 2008.

[rdupuy11]

It''s absolutely disgusting, the ''woman'' is not a predator but they ''child'' was the ''aggressor''.

From the judge, to the attorneys, to the comments in this section, its all completely disgusting.

These women are predators when they PREY on someone.

It''s beyond absurd to simply declare all male predators and all women victims. We have women in Tennessee who have murdered their husbands, go into court, claim to be the victim, and they get out within months, and get their children back too.

I''m telling you right now, there is no difference between a man who kills his wife and a woman who kills her husband. When you pick up a gun and kill someone, you have the control problem...not your victim.

When some teacher molests a student. The teacher is a sexual predator....and the child is not the aggressor.

Always, period, forever....if you cannot handle it, don''t become a teacher. This woman''s sentence is far too late, for being a rapist and a pedophile.

[dochavoc67]

What''''s the difference? 8 years, when he is 18 she''''ll be 26, obviously she WAS attracted.
------------------------------------------------------
Posted by newster1 at 01:47 PM : Sep 30, 2008


Excellent math skills, newster! Maybe your math teacher was teaching YOU something other than arithmetic, too? (just kidding)

[xmanborg]

She will be a Lesbian when she gets out of jail.

[easeup-2009]

Usually the female teachers in these cases are hot.

This one''s a coyote.

[shanev137]

I''m glad she''s going to prison.

[inketolstoy]

Great circular logic: She is immature: because she is immature she has *** with children: because she has *** with children she is immature: let her off? Where do we get these judges from?

[jamesetling4]

Implying that the boy didn''t enjoy it is nonsense. If he didn''t enjoy any of it, she never would have been able to unload him, and she would have dropped it. It probably took 10 seconds to unload him on the first one and then maybe 30 seconds on the second one 20 minutes later. Some women love the idea of a male gatling gun. Makes her feel desirable and powerful. Right now he is probably yanking on it while thinking about her.

[dogsoul]

"That boy was THRILLED to be doing what he did; it was morally wrong, but it was not a criminal act."

...and you don''t think there are 12 year old girls who would be thrilled to be having s*x with that studly male understanding teacher they''ve had a crush on all year? So what''s the difference? Are you saying it the kid''s ''into it'' then it shouldn''t be a crime for an adult to have s*x with him or her?

Bottom line is that if it were a guy who took his 12 year old female student to Mexico & banged her silly - even if she loved every minute of it.... he''d be going away for a loooooong time - and there wouldn''t be any talk of how he''s really just a 13 year old himself trapped in a man''s body.... typical double standard.

[emelder]

It''s time that female (teacher) predators were treated as harshly in the courts as male predators. The double standard has gone on long enough. We need fairly administered justice to keep the children safe!

[bob5ford]

This just further illustrates the disparity of our sentencing system. Someone convicted of manslaughter, taking a life, usually gets less time in jail then she did. Most drug possession crimes get more then she did. It indicated how little we value our children. Also, if it had been a male molesting a female the sentence would have been much longer. We need uniform sentencing with some reasonable basis. It could be done. To have the subjective system that we do have leaves it possible for a murderer to walk free in a couple of years and a jaywalker to spend life in jail. There is no rhyme or reason to sentences, just whatever mood the judge is in on the day. It''''s the biggest travesty in our judicial system today.

[hbevis]

Don''''t be suprised if this happens...
ACTION ALERT: [supposedly] info from DNC SOURCE NOT VERIFIED
Hi all,
Let me share some info with you that I have gotten from excellent sources
within the DNC:
On or about October 5th, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing
health problems, and he will be replaced by Hillary. This is timed to occur
after the VP debate on 10/2.
There have been talks all weekend about how to proceed with this info.
Generally, the feeling is that we should all go ahead and get it out there
to as many blog sites and personal email lists as is possible. I have
already seen a few short blurbs about this - the ''''health problem'''' cited in
those articles was aneurysm. Probably many of you have heard the same
rumblings.
However, at this point, with this inside info from the DNC, it looks like
this Obama strategy will be a go. Therefore, it seems that the best
strategy is to get out in front of this Obama maneuver, spell it out in
detail, and thereby expose it for the grand manipulation that it is.
So, et''''s start mixing this one up and cut the Obamites off at the pass -
send this info out to as many people as you can - post about it on websites
and blogs - etc.

[nothappyatall]

A man CAN be raped by a woman, but it''''s typically laughed at when it happens.

Posted by One_Texan

Well, I''m LAUGHING because that''s nuts, the guy has to get ummm AROUSED to even get hard, and the guy isnt going to get aroused unless he wants to or is stimulated right.

[nothappyatall]

When some teacher molests a student. The teacher is a sexual predator....and the child is not the aggressor.

Posted by Mark19712"

Yeah right, but he got AROUSED, and that aint gonna happen under duress, besides they absconded off to Mexico TOGETHER willingly, just like a couple of other female teachers with young teen boys- the boy WILLINGLY went or participated, sorry,but that''s NOT a "victim"

[nothappyatall]

That boy was THRILLED to be doing what he did; it was morally wrong, but it was not a criminal act.

Posted by diatreme

Yeah, geez, like at age 12-13 he was "innocent" and virginal. I was having s3x at 9 and my younger friends made me feel I was late even at that age.
A 12 year old is hardly a clueless idiot!

[nothappyatall]

I don''''t think we have heard the whole story, it stated that the boy was an illegal imigrant, also said that the birth certificate was questonable, who really knows how old this kid was. Never the less, she needs to rot in jail.

Posted by jroberts1976

ANd what if it turns out the kid was really 18?, send them BOTH to Mexico and let get hitched up down there.

[mytoosense]

Wow, I don''t get it. With the fantastic pay and benifits offered all teachers in this country, how did we end up with one that has a maturity level of a twelve year old?

[chicagorail6]

Too bad brainwashed Baptist trash like ''mytoosense'' post their droolings, which might lead others to think the Republiscum KoolAid they are peddling is actually the truth.


Teachers with no tenure - just starting out - are among the LOWEST PAID in all states in wages and benefits.








But I guess to a home-skooled Baptist *** like ''mytoosense'' even a thousand dollars a month seems pretty grand !








Silly snake-handling TrashTwat.