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Beth Friedman
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Updated Jan. 18, 2002, 12:00 p.m. ET
Florida teacher sentenced to probation, counseling
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Court TV) —A Broward County teacher avoided
jail time and was sentenced to one year probation with psychological
counseling for her involvement with one of her middle school students.
Beth Friedman, 42, appeared relieved in court Friday morning after a
judge ordered her to undergo counseling for low self-esteem and
depression. Friedman also will not be allowed to continue teaching
during her probation and will be subjected to random drug and alcohol
testing.
Friedman was convicted Dec. 21 of contributing to the delinquency of a
male student by supplying him with alcohol and drugs. The student,
Donald Vaden, testified at the trial that the teacher offered him
gifts in return for sex, but Friedman was found not guilty of the more
serious charges of statutory rape.
Judge Stanton Kaplan could have sentenced Friedman to up to a year in
jail for the misdemeanor conviction.
Friedman was a teacher at Silver Lakes Middle School in North
Lauderdale when allegations surfaced of her affair with a young
student. Vaden, who was 15 at the time, testified that the
teacher-student relationship developed into a sexual one in 1997. When
he eventually confessed to his mother that he was involved with
Friedman, she and her son went to the police.
During the trial, however, Vaden's credibility was called into
question. A defense witness testified that Vaden told him he planned
to "set up" a teacher and needed him to lie and say he saw them
kissing.
The defense also called witnesses to persuade the jury that the entire
Vaden family was lying to lay the foundation for a future civil suit
against the teacher. The family denied they had plans to file such a
suit.
The jury of four women and two men deliberated for more than three and
a half hours before delivering their verdict. One juror told Court TV
he did not believe there was enough evidence to support the felony
charges against the teacher.
"The possibility exists that she did [have sex with Vaden], but we
didn't have credible evidence that she did," Clint Conliffe said.
Court TV's Grace Wong and Aletse Mellado contributed to this report.
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