A former middle school teacher who got pregnant after sleeping with her 13-year-old student has pleaded guilty to sexual assault as part of a deal to avoid being jailed for life.
Alexandria Vera, 24, appeared in Houston court on Wednesday, and accepted a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The charge carries a potential sentence of life in prison, however Vera's possible punishment was capped at 30 years as part of her deal, KHOU reports.
Her lawyer, Ricardo Rodriguez, told reporters he is also 'hoping for deferred adjudication', according to the Houston Chronicle.
Her lawyer, Ricardo Rodriguez, told reporters he is also 'hoping for deferred adjudication', according to the Houston Chronicle.
A deferred adjudication could mean Vera does not have a conviction recorded, providing she met requirements put in place by the court.
The 24-year-old was teacher English at Thomas J. Stovall Middle School when she met the eighth-grader during summer classes last year.
The relationship went on for several months, according to KHOU, and both Vera and the young boy said they 'had sex on almost a daily basis' and 'love each other'.
Vera told investigators her victim's parents were, 'very supportive and excited' once they learned of the pregnancy in January.Court documents state the boy's parents were allegedly aware of the relationship and accepting of it.
However, the former teacher had an abortion after being questioned by Child Protective Services, court papers claim.
Vera, who has a four-year-old daughter, has been out on $100,000 bail since her arraignment in June this year, but was ordered to wear a GPS monitor, stay away from minors and prohibited from going online at home.
She was also put on a court-mandated curfew between 8pm and 7am at the time.
The 24-year-old will be sentenced in January.
The now-14-year-old student has been placed in foster care until at least August next year.
The case was uncovered after CPS received a tip-off about the relationship.