A former middle school teacher in Florida has pleaded guilty to charges including a lewd and lascivious battery sex act with a minor following her arrest in February.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, 27-year-old Stephanie Peterson was arrested on suspicion of sending the 14-year-old victim nude photos of herself and offering to purchase illegal drugs for him.

He reportedly told his parents that they had been engaged in a sexual relationship, leading them to report the incident to police.

According to the Cochrane Times Post, she reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that resulted in a 10-year prison sentence.

Peterson had been a teacher at New Smyrna Beach Middle School prior to her arrest. Prosecutors said she met the teen for sex in her car and another time inside a barn in the area.

In addition to the battery sex charge, she also pleaded guilty to electronically transmitting harmful material to a minor.

At one point prior to her arrest, Peterson sent the boy text messages in an attempt to convince him to erase any evidence of the affair. When she learned his mother knew about it, she encouraged him to intervene on her behalf.

The message asked him to tell his mother “it was the worst decision” she had ever made.

Peterson attempted to portray the encounters as lapses in judgment that forever changed her life.

In addition to the sentence, which carries a minimum five-year term, she will also have to register as a sex offender upon her release.

[Featured image: Stephanie Peterson/Volusia County Sheriff’s Office]