A former middle school teacher in Houston pleaded guilty to a sex crime after she was impregnated by a 13-year-old student, USA Today reports.
Alexandria Vera (Facebook)
Alexandria Vera, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, although she was at first arrested in June and charged with the more serious offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
It all began when she started having sex with an eighth grader at Stovall Middle School, where she taught, and, according to Harris County prosecutors, the sexual relationship went on for nine months and resulted in her becoming pregnant.
She has a 4-year-old daughter and is no longer carrying the boy’s baby, as court records show she had an abortion. She said she and the victim met in summer school in 2015 and that they “fell in love” the following year.
The case was complicated by the fact that the victim’s family members were supportive and even excited about the relationship that had developed between Ms Vera and her minor victim, My San Antonio reported.
The crime carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, but due to the plea deal, the sentence has been capped at 30 years. However, she’s also eligible for adjudicated probation, which would mean that her record would be cleared of this conviction if she completes the probation time without incident.
“That kid was always over (at Ms Vera’s house) in the spring,” one neighbor told KHOU-TV (CBS affiliate, Houston). “She was having a lot of kids in her home. … There was drinking in the front. We always found beer bottles and beer cans on her side of the lawn and half of the [teens] did not look older than high school, maybe.”
