Florida Middle School Teacher Charged for Sex With 14-Year-Old Student
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Hillsborough County middle school teacher has been arrested and is charged with having sex with a 14-year-old student.
Deputies arrested 28-year-old Stephanie Ragusa around 5 p.m. Thursday.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Ragusa had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy at Davidsen Middle School from October of 2006 to May of 2007.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Detectives said the victim was never actually a student of Ragusa's; he was a student at Davidsen Middle School while she taught there.
She is currently a 7th grade math teacher at Martinez Middle School in Tampa.
The school got a tip, and detectives interviewed the boy. They say they got enough information to move forward with an arrest.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ragusa was booked into the Orient Road Jail Thursday night.
Parents reacted to the news with shock and anger.
"It's hard enough as a student to be in the classroom and learn what the education standards are today, let alone whether a teacher sis pursuing a student," said parent Christine Baer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A school district spokesman called the allegations disappointing.
"When we hear of allegations like this, we turn it over immediately, because it is a criminal matter for law enforcement, it is not just a school matter," said Hillsborough Schools spokesman Steve Hegarty.
Ragusa is charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious battery.
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