Teacher who had sex with boy interviewed

Friday, August 25, 2006 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Debra Lafave, the former middle-school teacher who admitted having sex with a 14-year-old student, got a judge's permission to sit down at a hotel for a national TV interview with NBC's Matt Lauer. Lafave is serving three years' house arrest. She sought and was granted an exception to the guidelines of her sentence to meet Lauer for an interview Tuesday that will be broadcast later on the "Dateline" program. State Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman accepted Lafave's guilty plea to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery in November. He granted permission Monday for the interview, according to court records. "Debbie really wanted to explain her bipolar illness in hopes that it might be beneficial to people when they hear about it," her attorney John Fitzgibbons said. Court records show prosecutor Michael Sinacore didn't object because the 25-year-old was not compensated, a condition of her sentence.