Thread: Teacher says flight to Mexico boy's idea judge denies bail

Teacher says flight to Mexico was boy's idea as judge denies bail

Dec 10, 7:18 PM EST


Teacher says flight to Mexico was boy's idea as judge denies bail

By OSKAR GARCIA
Associated Press Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The former Lexington teacher accused of having sex with a student said Monday that it was her teenage lover's idea to flee to Mexico and that he told her he would kill her if she left him.

"He was pressuring me and that's why we chose to leave," Kelsey Peterson said Monday at a pretrial hearing where U.S. Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett denied bail, saying Peterson was a flight risk.

Peterson said the boy left bruises on her arms and chest, told her what to wear and threatened her life. She said he was in a gang and had her name tattooed across his chest, and that the boy's family knew about and encouraged their relationship.

Lawyers for the 13-year-old boy said Peterson's allegations aren't true and accused her attorney of lying about the boy and using Mexican stereotypes to cloud facts of the case.

"This whole case has been pulling things out of thin air and putting them forth as true," said Stu Dornan, a former Douglas County attorney and lawyer for the boy.

The teacher and the boy were found after a weeklong search led authorities to a mall parking lot in Mexicali, Mexico. Peterson pleaded not guilty Nov. 29 to charges of crossing a border to have sex with a minor.

Peterson, 25, said she panicked before they fled to Mexico, but didn't think authorities would come after her.

"I was scared to death," said Peterson, who faces federal charges that could result in 10 years to life in prison.

The boy told The Associated Press after the pair were found that he and Peterson had sex. The AP previously named the boy as police searched for him but stopped using his name in reports after authorities charged Peterson with a sex crime.

Peterson, who has been fired from her job as a middle school teacher and basketball coach, said she left with her teenage lover after school officials started investigating their relationship. She hoped the rumors about them would blow over.

"I really thought it just might go away," said Peterson, who wore an orange jumpsuit and pulled back her hair in a braided ponytail. "And I know that sounds crazy, but that's what I thought."

But the school called police, and authorities including the FBI started hunting for the pair.

Peterson described stops in Colorado, Utah and California - including two trips to the beach and a day at Disneyland - before the pair crossed the border into Mexico.

Peterson wept after being denied bail, and looked toward her family seated at the back of the courtroom as a U.S. marshal shackled her wrists after the hearing.

Peterson's lawyer, James Martin Davis, has said the boy is not 13 years old, has a 2-year-old child of his own and was Peterson's pursuer, not her victim. He said he would try to negotiate a plea deal with prosecutors before a Jan. 22 hearing.

A birth certificate provided to the AP earlier by the officer who arrested Peterson said the boy was 13. The officer said he got the certificate from the FBI and it was recognized by the Mexican government. Lawyers for the boy said Monday that the government has verified his age to them.

But Davis said the certificate was provided by the boy's mother - also an illegal immigrant - and shouldn't be trusted because it could be counterfeit.

The boy's age would not affect the current charges unless the defense established the boy was 18 or older. But it would make a difference if prosecutors end up charging Peterson with statutory rape because Nebraska's age of consent is 16.

Davis said Peterson would plead guilty to statutory rape charges if prosecutors can prove the boy's age.

Dornan said they were looking for ways to bring the boy back to the United States to testify against Peterson.

The eighth-grader was scared, confused and living with distant relatives in Mexico, another of his lawyers said Monday.

"The voice of the victim needs to be heard in this case," said Amy Peck, who said the boy isn't in school because he couldn't enroll mid-term in Mexico.

The lawyers hoped to apply for a special visa for the boy that would give him and his immediate family a chance at eventual U.S. citizenship in exchange for the boy helping prosecutors in Peterson's case.

The visa was specifically designed for victims of certain crimes. To qualify, prosecutors, a judge or law enforcement agency would have to write a letter on the boy's behalf saying he helped in the case.

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On the Net:

U.S. District Court-Nebraska: http://www.ned.uscourts.gov

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/ ... TE=DEFAULT

Peterson said the boy left bruises on her arms and chest, told her what to wear and threatened her life. She said he was in a gang and had her name tattooed across his chest, and that the boy's family knew about and encouraged their relationship.

I'm inclined to believe her in this, the boys family was definitely aware of the "victim" visas as they were well publicized. In addition to the Mexican culture of "machismo" and the fact that he's allegedly 13 with a TWO year old son and shaves? Not like any 13 year old boy I've ever seen or heard of. The tattoo can easily be proven.

Last week there was an post about Mexican birth certificates being issued with fraudulent ages on them.

Not excusing what the teacher did, which was stupid in itself, but I would definitely NOT give this boy and his family any victim visas.

Deport his entire family and let her serve her sentence.

The lawyers hoped to apply for a special visa for the boy that would give him and his immediate family a chance at eventual U.S. citizenship in exchange for the boy helping prosecutors in Peterson's case.

Why? I could care less if this little punk found someone stupid enough to have sex with the little illegal alien gang member. What really concerns me is the mental health of Kelsey Peterson. How someone so ill could be teaching young children?

Sounds like the teacher and the overgrown teenager are two world-class nutjobs.

Not sure if there's really a "victim" here, but there definitely was a crime committed by the teacher, so she deserved to be fired from her job (she has no business teaching), and she should pay for her stupidity.

But I also seriously doubt that the "boy" is 13 years old. He's probably more likely 16 or 17. And while I don't believe the teacher's story about being "scared" (puleeze...they went to Disneyland on their way to Mexico), I also DO believe that the guy was no victim either.

He and his entire family should be deported to Mexico, and the teacher should go to jail.

Originally Posted by miguelina

Peterson ..........said the boy left bruises on her arms and chest, told her what to wear

Last week there was an post about Mexican birth certificates being issued with fraudulent ages on them.

Deport his entire family and let her serve her sentence.

I remember a news report regarding the previous Mex. birth certificate. Both of them were identical, except for the DOB. The "real" certificate was also notorized. The false cert. had the year changed. Both has the same Mex. govt. official's signature.

What I don't know, was the false cert. an original document, merely lacking notorization or was it a copy that someone had changed the date on ?

I suspected they were BOTH original documents, since our govt. actually inquired of the Mex. govt. how both documents could have an official signature.

I bet this new case has a countefeit birth certificate.

Here's an article with a little more info from our local newspaper:

Kelsey Peterson took the stand at her own bail hearing Monday to convince a judge that she is neither a danger to society nor a flight risk.
She failed.
Peterson, 25, is accused of kidnapping Fernando Rodriguez, 13, and taking him across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. The federal charge carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
Peterson described a relationship in which a 13-year-old boy was the dominant figure. He had threatened and abused her, she said, leaving bruises on her arms and chest. He asked her not to cut her hair short or wear makeup and skirts. At least once, she said, he threatened to kill her if she ever left him.
And on Oct. 26, when he found out Lexington police wanted to question him about his relationship with Peterson, he pressured her to leave Nebraska and head for Mexico, she said.
Magistrate F.A. Gossett was not convinced.
In U.S. District Court in Omaha, he said Peterson's behavior shows her to be a flight risk.
The former middle school teacher left behind a job, a family and a daughter to escape scrutiny of her alleged inappropriate relationship with Fernando, Gossett said.
"When faced with a life problem, you will again not face it, but leave it,'' Gossett said.
Gossett denied bail, and Peterson remained in custody.
Her attorney, James Martin Davis of Omaha, had asked that she be released to a grandmother and an aunt who live in Lincoln.
Peterson was a sixth-grade math teacher and assistant high school girls basketball coach in Lexington when authorities allege she began a sexual relationship with Fernando.
Peterson is accused of taking Fernando and leaving Lexington a day after her employers placed her on administrative leave pending an investigation of her alleged relationship with a student.
Peterson and Fernando were detained in Mexicali, Mexico, on Nov. 2. Fernando, who is not a U.S. citizen, has been staying with people he didn't know before arriving in Mexico. They are relatives of an uncle's wife.
Peck said that Fernando has talked to his biological father, who is in Mexico, but that the two currently are not in contact with each other.
The idea that Fernando was behind the trip to Mexico is ridiculous, said Amy Peck, an Omaha attorney hired by the boy's family.
"She's the adult in that relationship, which she initiated when he was 12 years old,'' Peck said. "He does not have the legal ability to consent to a relationship - let alone a cross-country spree in a car."
Peterson said she never reported threats or abuse to school officials or law enforcement and did not mention them during interviews with the FBI. Peterson said she did tell a doctor about it during a recent psychological evaluation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Sharp contradicted her, saying that is not in the doctor's report.
The psychological evaluation remains under seal by order of the court.
Sharp noted the newness of her abuse accusations and said she has a "serious credibility issue.''
Peck agreed.
"Do we really believe a 25-year-old could be under that much influence, or is she playing to all of the racial stereotypes that are present, hoping that someone would fall for them?'' Peck asked.
Davis said the allegations expose Peterson for what she is - a troubled young woman in need of counseling.
Peterson also faces three state charges, which include two felonies: kidnapping and child abuse. Davis said the case belongs in state court.
If Peterson and Fernando did have a relationship and he is below the age of consent, Davis said, he would like to help her plead guilty to statutory rape.
"Let's convict her of what she did,'' Davis said.
According to Peck, justice would be bringing Fernando to Nebraska to participate in this process. Peck is seeking to tap a U immigration visa, which allows victims like him to participate in the process. Such a visa category also could extend to the undocumented parent of a victim, allowing temporary legal status.
"It is not OK for Fernando to be stranded in Mexico after being abused by a trusted teacher for over a year,'' Peck said.
During her testimony, Peterson detailed a slow, meandering drive to Mexico, which took them through Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. She said they stopped to shop at a mall in Utah, spent two days at the beach and spent one day in Disneyland.
They weren't trying to run from the law, she said. They were just trying to get away from Lexington for a while.
"In all honesty, in my thinking at the time, I really thought it all might just go away,'' Peterson said.
Special Agent Jeff Becker of the FBI said Peterson told FBI agents that she did several things to avoid being tracked by law enforcement, including using cash as much as possible and keeping cell phones turned off.
Davis argued she wasn't a fugitive from justice, because there wasn't a warrant out for her arrest when she left.
He also questioned the authenticity of a Mexican birth certificate that shows Fernando to be 13.
When Peterson was arrested, she told FBI agents she thought he was 14 and would turn 15 in a matter of weeks, Becker said. During her testimony Monday, she said Fernando had told her numerous times that he was 15 and would be 16 soon.
Peck said the Mexican government has certified his birth certificate and law enforcement has confirmed his birth date.

http://www.lexch.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 8509&rfi=6

This article makes me question a few things.

It has been reported that the boys mother was on welfare. I wonder where the family got the money to hire a lawyer?

What are the mexican stereotypes that they are talking about? Is it the beating, the tattoos, Fernando controlling the way Kelsey dresses, the gang, the lying or what? I don't know about the rest of you but the only stereotype I have of illegal aliens is their poor family values.

Oh my gosh. I just found Fernando's sob story! Can everyone cry along with me?

[quote]Boy's Attorney: Family Torn Apart By Predator Teacher Save Email Print

13-year-old who fled with Kelsey Peterson talks to channel 6
Reporter: Justin Joseph
Email Address: justin.joseph@wowt.com

26 comments

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Boy's Attorney: Family Torn Apart By Predator Teacher



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A | A | A Kelsey Peterson, charged with fleeing Nebraska to have sex with a student, will find out Monday if she will be free pending her trial. That student, Fernando Rodriguez, spoke exclusively Sunday with Channel 6 News.

He is soft spoken and timid. His attorney says that's because he is alone and scared.

Fernando Rodriguez's lawyer says this is not a story about illegal immigration. It's a story about a family torn apart and a thirteen-year-old boy who was victimzed by a predator who was his teacher.

In last year's class picture, Rodriguez looks like most kids, happy. But unlike other kids in sixth-grade, this kid now says he is frightened and alone. "I don't have anyone here or anything like that. My family is over there."

Fernando's attorney, Amy Peck, says she is taking this case on for free because with a thirteen-year-old son of her own, this story is about more than just borders.

"It's three weeks before Christmas,â€

What's with our government bringing criminals back here to testify and them giving them privileges? They can take depositions in Mexico and leave them there.