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Lakeland middle school teacher accused of having sexual relations with teen

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said she admitted what she did.

LAKELAND, Fla. — She was a teacher for 29 years, and now she's accused of having sexual relations with an underage boy. 

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Leslie Bushart, 49, admitted to them she was drunk and performed oral sex on the boy at his older sister's graduation party.

Bushart told another person at the party what she did and that person told the boy's parents, according to investigators. The boy's mother confronted Bushart, and she quickly left the party, deputies said.

Bushart allegedly later tried to talk to the boy's mom on Facebook messenger and reason with her by saying she did it because she was drunk, deputies said. 

“Leslie Bushart victimized a teenage boy. She betrayed her profession, as well as her friends during what was supposed to be a very special day. There is technically one victim in this case, but the entire family and school community have suffered from this," Sheriff Grady Judd said. 

The sheriff's office said Bushart was arrested on June 25.

She had been a teacher at Lakeland’s Lake Gibson Middle School.

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