Former Valley High teacher to plead guilty in student sex case

Jillian Lafave (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

A former Valley High School teacher accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Jillian Lafave, 25, is expected to plead guilty next week to two felony counts of sexual conduct with a pupil and one count of open or gross lewdness, a gross misdemeanor. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison but could be eligible for probation, according to defense attorney Warren Geller.

Lafave, who never received a license to teach in Nevada, was allowed to work at the Clark County School District under the radar as a special education resource teacher since August.

She had moved last year to Las Vegas from Houston, and records from the Texas State Board of Educator Certification show she received authorization to work as a classroom teacher in that state.

However, a search on the Nevada Department of Education’s teacher licensure database reveals Lafave never received the proper credentials to work in a classroom here. Records obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal also indicate state officials knew as early as November that Lafave was teaching at Valley High without a license.

Lafave, who was arrested in January and released on bail, since has started a new job in Las Vegas. She is no longer employed by the school district.

The student involved in the case, who is 16 to 17 years old, told police he started exchanging text messages with his teacher on Oct. 16 after she helped him find a homecoming date, according to a police report. The student was in special education classes for a learning disability.

Authorities said Lafave exchanged upwards of 13,000 text messages with the student. The messages were exchanged over a three-month period, averaging just under 150 texts per day.

In a Jan. 14 statement to police, the student said “he loves Lafave and she loves him.”

Lafave admitted to kissing the student on the mouth on several occasions and touching his private parts once, police said. She told police that she never had “sexual penetration” with the student.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find @randompoker on Twitter.