WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A former Valley Mills High School teacher and coach pleaded guilty Friday to having an improper sexual relationship with two teenage boys.
Prosecutors recommended that 19th State District Judge Thomas West place Shelby Dawn Lashombe on deferred probation and fine her $1,000 after Lashombe pleaded guilty to two counts of improper relationship between educator and student.
The charges are second-degree felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
In exchange for her two guilty pleas, the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office dismissed two counts of sexual assault of a child against LaShombe, also second-degree felonies.
The judge ordered a presentence investigation by probation officers, which he will consider before deciding if he will accept the plea bargain. Sentencing is set for June 26.
Shelby Dawn Lashombe pleaded guilty to two counts of improper relationship between educator and student.(Photo: Tommy Witherspoon for KWTX)
Lashombe resigned her position at Valley Mills High School when the allegations surfaced and since has surrendered her teacher certification.
The boys were students at West High School and Axtell High School, respectively, and were not students of Lashombe, officials have said.
According to arrest documents, the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that Lashombe was seen kissing a 16-year-old boy and that Lashombe and the boy had engaged in sexual intercourse.
A detective interviewed the teen, who confirmed he had had sex with Lashombe, adding “and it has happened more than once,” an arrest affidavit states. The boy told the detective Lashombe knew he was under the age of consent.
Lashombe admitted to the detective that she was intimate with the boy and said they had been seeing each other for six months, arrest documents allege.
“Shelby stated she had been friends with the juvenile’s family for years, knowing his age and that he was a student,” the detective wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Lashombe also admitted to having sex with another boy who was under the age of 17, the affidavit said.
In deferred probation cases, there is no final judgment of guilt and a defendant can avoid a felony conviction by complying with the terms and conditions of probation.
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