Nebraska teacher sentenced to 6 years for sex with student

October 4, 2008

Kelsey Peterson, a former Nebraskan teacher has been sentenced to 6 years in prison for transporting a minor across state lines to have sex. She traveled to Mexico with a 13-year-old boy with whom she previously had an affair. Peterson took the boy to Mexico in October 2006 after accusations that she was having an affair with the boy surfaced. She was arrested in Mexico when the boy called his family in the United States.

She was charged with kidnapping and first degree sexual assault. Peterson's attorney claimed that the boy's birth certificate was possibly forged or doctored and that the boy was in fact at least 16. Given time already served and the possibility time-off for of good behavior, Peterson could be released in four years. However, her conviction was on federal charges and she may still be prosecuted on state charges which could lead to additional time in jail.

The child was an illegal immigrant at the time of the affair and kidnapping. The child has been since been put on humanitarian parole which means that he will not be deported for the foreseeable future. The child's attorney wants the boy and his family to obtain visas, and eventually to become United States citizens.