La. teacher Shelley Dufresne takes plea in student sex case, avoids jail

DESTREHAN, La. - A former Louisiana high school teacher has pleaded guilty in a student sex case involving a 16-year-old as part of a plea dead that will allow her to avoid jail time or having to register as a sex offender, CBS affiliate WGCL reported.

The deal was announced in Hahnville at a hearing Thursday in the case of 32-year-old Shelley Dufresne. It avoids the need for a May 20 trial.

Dufresne, a former teacher at Destrehan High School, pleaded guilty to obscenity instead of the original charge of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, the station reported.

WGCL says the judge sentenced Dufresne to a $1,000 fine, 90 days in a mental health facility and three years' probation. If she does not fulfill these terms, she must serve 90 days in jail in St. Charles Parish.

The station reported that after Dufresne left court, she posted a smiling picture of herself on social media with the caption "my mood today" followed by three smiling faces. It's unknown what Dufresne was posting about, but the station says the comments below the post suggested it had something to do with her name being in the news.

She and another former teacher at the school have been arrested, but not yet formally charged, in another case in Jefferson Parish involving the same student.