Stephanie Peterson is a former Florida middle school teacher who pleaded guilty in 2018 to sexually abusing a 14-year-old student at New Smyrna Beach Middle School and was sentenced to three years in prison. She was a science teacher in the Volusia County School District when the abuse began, resigned days before her arrest, and is now listed on Florida’s sex offender registry under supervised release.
The Abuse at New Smyrna Beach Middle School
Peterson, also known by her maiden name Stephanie Ferri, began teaching science at New Smyrna Beach Middle School in August 2016. The victim had been her student the year before and became her teacher’s aide in eighth grade.1WWAY TV3. Female Teacher Accused of Sexual Relationship With 14-Year-Old Boy
The sexual relationship began in November 2017. Over roughly two months, Peterson picked the boy up from his home after 11 p.m. while her husband was at work and returned him between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m.2Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Former New Smyrna Beach Middle School Teacher Charged in Sexual Relationship With 8th-Grader She sent him nude photographs of herself through Snapchat and Instagram, provided him with marijuana and a bowl for smoking, and told him to keep the relationship secret or they would both get in trouble.3CBS News. Stephanie Peterson, Teacher in Sexual Relationship With Boy, Released From Jail
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said: “You play them with drugs, you’re in a position of power, ‘Don’t tell anybody, we’re going to get in trouble. I’m going to make you the teacher’s aide.’ Basically, that young man, his childhood was stolen.”3CBS News. Stephanie Peterson, Teacher in Sexual Relationship With Boy, Released From Jail
The abuse surfaced after another teacher contacted the victim’s mother about a mentoring request the boy had made. During the conversation that followed, the boy joked about being molested, then began crying and disclosed the relationship. The family had already confronted Peterson in January 2018 and demanded she end the relationship. According to Chitwood, they went to police after believing the contact had resumed.4ClickOrlando. Deputies: New Smyrna Beach Teacher Had Sexual Relationship With 8th-Grader
Arrest and Charges
A detective from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the family’s home on February 27, 2018. Investigators confirmed Peterson’s identity through the nude photos she had sent to the victim, which showed her face.2Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Former New Smyrna Beach Middle School Teacher Charged in Sexual Relationship With 8th-Grader
Peterson resigned from her teaching position on February 26, 2018, one day before the detective’s visit. She was arrested on February 28 and charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious battery and one count of transmission of harmful materials to a minor.2Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Former New Smyrna Beach Middle School Teacher Charged in Sexual Relationship With 8th-Grader She had filed for divorce roughly two weeks before her arrest.3CBS News. Stephanie Peterson, Teacher in Sexual Relationship With Boy, Released From Jail
Guilty Plea and Three-Year Sentence
On October 16, 2018, Peterson pleaded guilty to two felonies: lewd and lascivious battery of a child younger than 16, and transmission of material harmful to a minor. Prosecutors dropped a second count of lewd or lascivious battery as part of the deal, and Peterson agreed to register as a sex offender.5Orlando Sentinel. Former New Smyrna Beach Middle Teacher Stephanie Peterson Pleads Guilty to Sex With Student6Oxygen. Former Florida Teacher Stephanie Peterson Pleads Guilty to Having Sex With Teen
Judge Raul Zambrano sentenced Peterson on December 19, 2018 to 36 months in prison, a downward departure from the five-year minimum she faced. The court added two years of community control, a form of house arrest, followed by sex offender probation.7WESH. Ex-Volusia Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Having Sex With Eighth-Grader8News9. Former Teacher Sentenced to 3 Years in Abuse of Middle School Student
What Each Side Argued
Prosecutors argued Peterson used drugs and alcohol to manipulate and abuse the victim. His mother and grandmother asked the court for the harshest sentence available and described Peterson as a predator who had groomed the boy. The mother told the court her son’s abuse “forever changed” him: “My child is gone, his innocence stole from him… We are left with a completely different child.” She said he was “angry most days” and experienced deep sadness.7WESH. Ex-Volusia Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Having Sex With Eighth-Grader
Peterson’s defense presented a psychologist who testified she had been in an “acute manic state” related to bipolar disorder at the time of the offenses. The expert put her risk of reoffending as “very low” and said her motivation was a desire for attention rather than sexual gratification. Defense attorneys told the court she was on medication and in treatment.7WESH. Ex-Volusia Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Having Sex With Eighth-Grader
Peterson spoke as well: “Every day of my life I wake up and ask myself ‘What have you done?’ Every day I pray I will be forgiven. Every day I fight with the remorse and shame I feel inside.”7WESH. Ex-Volusia Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Having Sex With Eighth-Grader
Where Stephanie Peterson Is Now
Peterson has completed her prison sentence and appears on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement sex offender registry as a sexual offender, a classification distinct from the more severe “sexual predator” designation. Her registry entry shows she remains under supervised release by the Florida Department of Corrections. As of her most recent registration update in May 2026, she is listed at an address in New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County.9FDLE. Florida Sexual Offender Registry – Stephanie Suzanne Peterson