Federal Judge Sets Trial for Former Teacher

Friday, April 18, 2008 12:59 PM

OMAHA, Neb. -- A federal judge has set a trial date for a former Nebraska teacher accused of fleeing to Mexico with a middle school student.

The case of 26-year-old Kelsey Peterson is going to trial July 8. Her lawyers had hoped to reach a plea deal that would allow her to face state, rather than federal, charges.

Peterson is facing federal charges of crossing the border to have sex with a minor, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years. Her lawyers argue that's too much time.

Peterson was the boy's sixth-grade math teacher. The pair disappeared from Lexington in October when the boy was 13. They were found a week later in Mexicali, Mexico.

http://www.newsmax.com/us/teacher_stude ... 89113.html