Thread: More Kelsey and Fernando Stories

Lexington teacher returns to Nebraska to face charges
BY PAUL HAMMEL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

LINCOLN — The former Lexington middle school teacher who fled to Mexico with a student is back on Nebraska soil. And her attorney says he has new evidence casting doubt that the boy is 13.

Kelsey Peterson, 25, was taken Wednesday to the Cass County Jail in Plattsmouth, completing a journey that began 13 days ago at a detention facility near San Diego. She was taken there after her Nov. 2 arrest in Mexicali, Mexico.

Peterson was held briefly at federal prisons in Oklahoma and Kansas before being moved to Cass County, which contracts to hold federal detainees.

She will make her first Nebraska court appearance today before U.S. District Court Magistrate F.A. Gossett in Omaha.

Peterson has been charged in federal court with transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity, an offense punishable by 10 years to life in prison.

Three state charges were filed against her after she fled from Lexington Oct. 25 with the student, Fernando Rodriguez. Those charges include two felonies: kidnapping and child abuse.

U.S. Attorney Joe Stecher said his office would oppose releasing Peterson from custody because she is a flight risk, as exhibited by the cross-country drive she made with the teenager.

Peterson's attorney, James Martin Davis of Omaha, said he would seek psychiatric and psychological evaluations of the former teacher. Davis said the evaluations would help show if she is emotionally fit to be released from jail pending her court hearings.

"This is weighing on her," he said. "What concerns her most is that she may lose custody of her child to a father who is almost a stranger to the child."

An Adams County judge has temporarily awarded legal custody of Peterson's 8-year-old daughter to the girl's father, Alex Long, who lives in Texas.

The girl was born out of wedlock when both parents attended high school in Lexington. Before Peterson's flight with Fernando, the little girl had gone to live with her grandparents in Gothenburg, Neb.

The girl continues to live in Gothenburg pending a Dec. 5 court hearing. Davis has said Peterson wants her child to remain with the grandparents.

Davis said he has uncovered new information that he says casts doubt on the accuracy of Fernando's age.

He said that the boy once gave an older age to a Lexington police officer and that his uncle told people three years ago that Fernando was then 13.

The boy is the father of a 2-year-old child, Davis said, "that we know he didn't father when he was 11."

"He may not be 16, but we know he isn't 13," he said. "I want to dispel this notion that this young Latino man was a victim."

Davis has said before that Fernando is older than 13.

Peterson has told authorities she believed the boy was 16. Court documents say his Mexican birth certificate indicates that he is 13. Family members also have said that Fernando is 13.

Davis said he is not saying that Peterson should be exonerated if it is proved that Fernando is older than 13, only that it helps show that she was "not the predator. She told police it wasn't (she) who chased the boy."

He said Fernando's mother, who he said was illegally living in the United States, was on welfare and that "part of her benefits were based on the age of her children."

Kathie Osterman, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said she did not have enough information to respond to that assertion.

Osterman did say that if a child turns 16 and is not attending school, the child would be required to obtain a job or attend job training to remain eligible for food stamps.

Fernando was attending eighth grade in Lexington when he fled with Peterson, who has since been fired from her teaching job.

The boy's aunt, Laura Rodriguez, who has been a spokeswoman for the family, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10196109

Lexington student denies fathering child
BY PAUL HAMMEL
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

• Lexington teacher returns to Nebraska to face charges
LINCOLN - The Lexington middle school student who ran away with a former teacher to Mexico denied today that he was the father of a 2-year-old child.

Fernando Rodriguez also insisted that the teacher's lawyer was wrong when he said he had uncovered new information that casts doubt on the boy's age.

"I'm 13," Fernando said in a brief telephone interview from Mexico, where he is using a cell phone given to him by the 25-year-old teacher, Kelsey Peterson.

The boy said he remains in Janitzio, Mexico, across the California border. He's been staying there with family friends since he and Peterson were apprehended on Nov. 2 in Mexicali, Mexico.

The pair fled from Lexington on Oct. 26, a day after the teacher was put on leave from her job for inappropriate contact with a student.

This afternoon, Peterson was scheduled to make her first appearance in a Nebraska courtroom before U.S. District Court Magistrate F.A. Gossett in Omaha.

A federal grand jury indicted Peterson two weeks ago on a charge of transporting a minor (under 18 years of age) across state lines to engage in sexual activity, an offense punishable by 10 years to life in prison.

The sixth-grade math teacher and assistant high school girls basketball coach also faces three criminal charges in state court, including two felonies, kidnapping and child abuse.

Peterson's attorney, James Martin Davis of Omaha, said his investigation had found that Fernando, now an eighth-grader, was the father of a 2-year-old child. And Davis said he had uncovered instances where Fernando and an uncle had stated that the boy was older.

Davis said that the boy once gave an older age to a Lexington police officer and that his uncle told people three years ago that he was 13.

"He may not be 16 but we know he isn't 13," the attorney said. "I want to dispel this notion that this young Latino man was a victim."

Davis said he is not saying that Peterson should be exonerated if it's proved that Fernando is older, only that it helps show that she was "not the predator."

"She told police it wasn't her that chased the boy," he said.

Lexington Police Chief Charlie Clark said he had no idea where Davis got information that Fernando had once given an older age to police in Lexington.

Dawson County Attorney Elizabeth Waterman declined to comment on the latest questions about Fernando's age and whether he had fathered a child.

Davis has claimed previously that Fernando is older than he maintains.

Peterson, according to court documents, told her father that she believed the boy was 16. An FBI agent, in the same documents, said that Fernando's Mexican birth certificate and his family indicate that he is 13.

In the interview today, Fernando answered "no" when asked if he had fathered a child. He also said his age was 13.

Fernando, in a telephone interview with The World-Herald shortly after the two were apprehended, denied that he had engaged in sex with the teacher. Later, the Associated Press quoted a Mexican police officer who said the boy admitted to having sex "maybe twice."

Davis was in court this morning and could not be reached for further comment.

Calls to Fernando's aunt Wednesday and this morning were not answered.

U.S. District Attorney Joe Stecher said his office would oppose an effort to release Peterson from custody before a trial because she is a flight risk.

Davis said that he would not be seeking her release but would be asking for psychiatric and psychological evaluations of Peterson, who was dismissed from her teaching job earlier this month.

"This is weighing on her," Davis said. "What concerns her most is that she may lose custody of her child to a father who is about a stranger to the child."

On Nov. 13, a judge in Adams County temporarily awarded legal custody of Peterson's 8-year-old daughter to the girl's father, Alex Long, who now lives in Texas. Another hearing in that case is set for Wednesday.

Davis said Peterson wants the child to remain with her grandparents in Gothenburg.

World-Herald staff writer Leslie Reed contributed to this report.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10196978

Lexington teacher to receive mental evaluation
BY KEVIN COLE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A former Lexington, Neb., teacher who ran away to Mexico with an eighth-grader will undergo a psychological evaluation before a U.S. District Court magistrate hears arguments on whether she should be held without bail.

Kelsey PetersonKelsey Peterson, 25, made her first appearance in a Nebraska courtroom Thursday before Magistrate F.A. Gossett in Omaha.

Her attorney, James Martin Davis of Omaha, requested a psychological evaluation of Peterson and the motion was not opposed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Sharp.

Gossett then set a bail hearing for Dec. 10 before U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith-Camp.

Sharp said his office would oppose releasing Peterson from custody before a trial because she is a flight risk.

Davis said the evaluation will be conducted by Dr. Stephen Skulsky, an Omaha psychologist.

"We wanted the evaluation to show that Kelsey is not a pedophile in danger of reoffending," Davis said.

Peterson sat quietly in orange prison garb during the 20-minute hearing Thursday at the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Courthouse. Her light-brown hair was fixed in a bun, and she smiled easily as she talked with her defense counsel.

She appeared to hold back tears as the judge read Peterson's federal grand jury indictment charging her with transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity, an offense punishable by 10 years to life in prison.

She is accused of running away with Fernando Rodriguez, 13.

In a telephone interview Thursday, the boy said he remains in Janitzio, Mexico, across the California border. He has been staying with family friends since he and Peterson were apprehended Nov. 2 in Mexicali, Mexico.

The pair fled from Lexington on Oct. 26, a day after the teacher was put on leave from her job for inappropriate contact with a student.

When the judge asked Peterson if she understood the charge against her and the possible penalties, she answered, "Yes, I do," in a clear voice.

A moment later, she entered a plea of "not guilty" to the federal charge.

The former sixth-grade math teacher and assistant high school girls basketball coach also faces three criminal charges in state court, including two felonies, kidnapping and child abuse.

No family or friends of Peterson's attended the hearing.

Speaking to reporters, Davis said he advised Peterson's grandparents, who live in Gothenburg, Neb., and have custody of Peterson's 8-year-old daughter, to wait until the bail hearing to come to Omaha.

"I anticipated the detention hearing would be continued and thought it would be easier on them," he said.

Davis continued to assert his contention that Fernando is older than 13 and not a true victim. He said Fernando told Peterson he is the father of 2-year-old boy named Carlos who lives in Grand Island.

Davis said he was forwarding the information to the FBI.

State Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island said he doesn't know anything about the allegations about the boy's age or whether he had fathered a child.

However, Aguilar said, "Regardless of his age, a line was crossed based on his grade in school and the fact that she is a teacher."

Davis said, "We're not saying (Peterson) did nothing wrong. We want to establish the true age of this young man so the judge has all the facts. It would be a mitigating factor in my client's favor."

Davis also contends that Fernando gave Lexington police a different birth date during a phone interview.

"His credibility is at stake," Davis said. "We know his mother has phony documents. How is the birth certificate (he has) any more credible?"

Lexington Police Chief Charlie Clark said he had no idea where Davis got information that Fernando had once given an older age to police in Lexington.

Fernando on Thursday said he was not the father of a 2-year-old child.

He said Davis was wrong when he said he had uncovered new information that casts doubt on the boy's age.

"I'm 13," Fernando said Thursday in the telephone interview from Mexico, where he is using a cell phone given to him by Peterson.

In a phone interview with The World-Herald shortly after the two were apprehended, Fernando denied having engaged in sex with the teacher. Later, the Associated Press quoted a Mexican police officer who said the boy admitted to having sex "maybe twice."

Dawson County Attorney Elizabeth Waterman declined to comment on the latest questions about Fernando's age and whether he had fathered a child.

An FBI agent, in court documents, said that Fernando's Mexican birth certificate and his family indicate that he is 13.

World-Herald staff writers Paul Hammel and Leslie Reed contributed to this report.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10197218

He said Fernando's mother, who he said was illegally living in the United States, was on welfare and that "part of her benefits were based on the age of her children."

That should pretty much clear up the question of his age They are hard working people who don't use government services. Right.

It is possible he was older than 13 -

Did she know that - for sure?

Also, I do have to agree with the man who said a line was crossed. I don't think we hire teachers in this country to have sex with their students - it is just that simple.

Not saying he wasn't older, and wasn't a willing participant, and may have been the seducer - but she is supposed to be a professional.

Just how do we know she won't reoffend?

This is just sordid.

Leave him in Mexico send him and his mother and all the children, who ever they belong to - back to Mexico and do something about this woman.