Prosecutor says Holyoke teacher took boy to four states

March 6, 2009 04:18 PM Email| Comments (12)| Text size – +

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The Holyoke teacher who allegedly ran off with her 15-year-old student traveled with him to Vermont, Delaware, and Pennsylvania before they were found and arrested in West Virginia, a prosecutor in the Hampden district attorney's office said today.

Lisa Lavoie, 24, was arraigned this morning in Holyoke District Court on a child enticement charge. Authorities are expecting to file additional charges of statutory rape, said prosecutor James Goodhines.

"As I told the judge, we believe that she developed an inappropriate sexual relationship that started as a friendship and developed into something more over the course of several months. And this inappropriate relationship is the basis of future charges," he said.

Prosecutors asked that bail be set at $100,000 cash or $1 million surety, but Judge Kenneth Cote agreed to a defense request for bail to be set at $25,000 cash. The judge also ordered Lavoie to be placed on a GPS monitoring system, to remain under the supervision of her mother, and to stay away from the student and her school, Goodhines said.

Goodhines said the pair had decided to flee the state after their relationship was found out by the student's family and reported to police.

Lavoie and the boy, who is not being identified by the Globe because he is a minor, were found in late February at a Super 8 Motel in Morgantown, W. Va.

"We're obviously going to defend the case," said David Hoose, Lavoie's attorney. He noted that the evidence indicated that the "young man was certainly not coerced into being with her and certainly not there against his will."

"Lisa is a young woman who is just the all-American girl. … She obviously was going through an extremely difficult period emotionally at the time these things happened. I think that will all be fleshed out in the weeks and months to come," he said.

He said he wasn't surprised that prosecutors were readying statutory rape charges, adding that the defense was "prepared to meet them."

A pretrial hearing in the case has been set for April 24.

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12 comments so far...

I was jealous of the kid, but then I saw her pic. Not that jealous - well maybe I am - 15 years old and getting schooled by a teacher. Hmmm.
Of course this would be TOTALLY DIFFERENT if it were a male teacher and a female student. Yes, it's a double standard, but one that all men understand - politically incorrect though it may be.

Posted by Homer March 6, 09 06:26 PM

I think she already got all "fleshed" out! Go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Posted by chuckorlou March 6, 09 06:30 PM

"all-American girl"????? What part of this country was her attorney raised in? This woman is sick and depraved. She needs to be put away for a long time - double standard be dam#ed!

Posted by eTrash March 6, 09 07:52 PM

Well, they she showed him four different states of the union, so it was kind of educational...

Posted by Brian March 6, 09 07:58 PM

Guilty, by photographic evidence.

Posted by buccaneer81 March 6, 09 08:26 PM

This fifteen year boy old is in elementary school! Doesn't *that* tell us something about this "relationship"?

Posted by jeeperCreepers March 6, 09 08:54 PM

puzzling bit of geography?
how does one get to Delaware & Pennsylvannia, without passing through New York?? seems we are missing a state

Posted by skeptic March 6, 09 08:56 PM

eTrash says: ""all-American girl"????? What part of this country was her attorney raised in?"

Duh, he is her attorney. He speaks exclusively on her behalf, and no one else's. Don't like it? Move to communist russia!

Posted by Ted McStephens March 6, 09 09:08 PM

Thirty years from now, this kid will be stuck in some miserable marriage, and the only thing that will keep him going is the memories of his time with this teacher. Boys and girls are not the same. If this were a male teacher and a fifteen-year-old girl, it would be entirely different. It's not, however. This was a fifteen year old boy who knew how lucky he was. I can only that I had a teacher like her when I was his age.

Sorry if this is not politically correct. But, that's the way it is.

Posted by This is why I never had kids. March 6, 09 09:31 PM

Ok, so we can deduce that the public school teacher and student tandem were not working with much capital. Any sane person will agree that their most likely mode of transportation was the automobile, they certainly were not jet setting. At the very least the two would have had to cross borders into New York, depending on their route they could have entered New Jersey and Maryland as well. I won't waste your time with the logistical possibilities in this forum. I will conclude that the pair traveled to at bare minimum a fifth state, and using gas station road maps or perhaps a Garmin (GASP! where would they get the money for that?) a sixth state, with a seventh a real possibility. Game. Set. Match

Posted by Kevin Broder March 6, 09 11:47 PM

She's an adult, a teacher. She knows better not to be involved with under age kids. Why did it? if she wanted to, she can wait 3 more years. Can't she think coherently? if not, why do schools hire people like her to educate children? I would be worry if my kids have teachers like her.

A normal adult would not run away with 15 year old kid. Lucky kid, crazy lady.
Potential ran away teachers, please learn from this lesson and be ethical and think think think before you act. It will save your future and away from jail.

Posted by bostine March 7, 09 12:14 AM

Yeah right,Like he was so damned innocent!!
This 'BOY" should be charged with stupidity-like he was so harmed by this horrible experience, get off it people! 15 year old boys have NO desire in females!! Right........get over it!!!

Posted by mick March 8, 09 01:23 PM