OfficerBlueDaytona Beach, FL – A teacher at New Smyrna Beach Middle School was charged Wednesday after being accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student.
Stephanie Peterson Ferri, 26, resigned from the school on Monday after the accusations came to light.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says that Ferri started a sexual relationship with a former male student in November 2017. Their relationship was discovered after the victim told his parents.
The victim told detectives that Ferri would pick him up at around 11 p.m. and bring him back home at 1 or 2 a.m.
The two allegedly had sexual encounters at Ferri’s house while her husband, a DeLand firefighter, was at work. They also allegedly had encounters in a barn on the property of the teen’s parents, according to Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Ferri and her husband are now in the process of getting a divorce.
The victim said that during the ongoing sexual abuse, Ferri bought him marijuana and bowls for smoking it. He said that she also sent him nude photos.
Ferri was arrested and charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious battery and one count of transmission of harmful materials to a minor.
At her hearing on Thursday, the state requested that her bail remain at $25,000 based on how egregious her crime was. Instead, the judge cut her bail to $12,500 and she was released after posting bail.
Ferri’s attorney filed a motion to suppress her admissions, claiming that they are “obtained illegally,” according to the News-Journal.
The sheriff’s office is asking parents in the area to speak with their children. Parents with information of additional students victimized by Ferri have been asked to call the VCSO Child Exploitation Unit at 386-323-3574.