Neb. teen in teacher sex case gets victim's visa
By TIMBERLY ROSS

Associated Press Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- An immigration visa for crime victims has been given to a Nebraska teenager whose former teacher was convicted of sexual assault after taking the boy to Mexico and having sex with him when he was only 13, his attorney said.

The U visa will allow the boy, who is now 16, and his mother to stay in the U.S. for the next two or three years, attorney Amy Peck said. Both are illegal immigrants but will apply to become permanent residents, she said.

The visas are given to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human smuggling and other crimes in exchange for cooperation with law enforcement. The federal government said last week that it had issued all 10,000 visas available for the fiscal year.

"The family's happy to have this part of it over and looking forward to being permanent residents," Peck said.

The teen's former teacher, Kelsey Peterson, 28, was sentenced last year to up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree sexual assault of a minor. She also is serving a federal six-year sentence for transporting a minor across state lines to have sex.

Peterson was the boy's sixth grade math teacher at Lexington Middle School during the 2005-06 school year, and began having sex with him in November 2006, prosecutors said.

Peterson fled to Mexico with the boy in the fall of 2007, shortly after the district's superintendent confronted her about allegations that she and the teen were having a sexual relationship. She was arrested a week later in Mexicali, Mexico, after the boy called his mother.

Authorities recovered several e-mails and letters in which Peterson and the boy professed their affection for one another. The former teacher testified during her trial that the boy left bruises on her arms and chest, and threatened her life. Peterson also said his family knew about and encouraged their relationship, though his family has denied the claims.

"There are long-term effects from an ordeal like this," Peck said. "Like any trial, it will take years for him to fully process what happened to him."

Peck said the teen was still living in Nebraska, but declined to be more specific. Peterson's teaching license has been revoked.

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