Texas teacher who admitted to sex with teen boys gets sweetheart deal after victim’s dad made shocking admission

A Texas high school teacher who admitted to having sex with two teenage boys received only a slap on the wrist after one of the teen’s fathers offered his support and claimed his son was “thriving” and not traumatized by the relationship.

Shelby Dawn Lashombe, 25, of Waco, who was facing decades behind bars, received a sweetheart deal of deferred probation for six years and a $1,000 fine as part of a plea deal with prosecutors last week, KWTX reported.

The judge additionally ordered Lashombe to spend just four weekends in jail and another 60 days working on the county chain gang.

In cases ending with deferred probation, there is no final judgement of guilt and Lashombe will avoid felony conviction if she complies with the conditions of probation.

Shelby Dawn Lashombe will only spend a few weekends in jail, a judge ruled last week. McLennan County Sheriff's Office

Judge Thomas West told Lashombe in court Friday that he would have given her a more severe sentence if one of the boys’ fathers had not testified that his son is doing well after the twisted tryst.

The boy’s father said his son is going to counseling but was not traumatized by what happened. He is excelling academically, playing well on his school football team and has recently been accepted to several universities, the dad said, according to KWTX.

His son is “thriving” and does not feel victimized, the dad continued, adding that he does not consider Lashombe to be a sexual predator and does not want to see her go to prison.

However that same boy’s mother, who is reportedly in a custody battle with the father, whom she divorced, said her son suffers from depression, anxiety and has isolated himself from friends and family.

Lashombe was a teacher at Valley Mills high school in central Texas. Valley Mills Independent School District / Facebook

He wanted to switch schools, stopped going to Catholic Mass and skipped his high school prom, the mother said in an impact statement. She claimed Lashombe’s “calculated and predatory actions” robbed her son’s innocence.

Lashombe was busted in September 2025 after police received a tip-off that she was spotted kissing a 16-year-old student. 

Neither of the victims were students at Valley Mills High School in central Texas, where Lashombe was teaching at the time of her arrest. She’s since been working at a furniture manufacturing company in nearby Waco, according to KWTX.

The 16-year-old Lashombe was caught smooching, a known family friend, told investigators that he had sex with the teacher “more than once,” and that she knew he was underage, according to an arrest affidavit. 

Lashombe said that they had been having sex for about six months.

Lashombe also admitted to having sex with a second boy who was under the age of 17, and who attended a different school to the first victim.

“She had no control over them. She had no power as a teacher over them,” Lashombe’s attorney Cody Cleveland said.

“The boys independently reached out to her through social media and one thing led to another. But this was not a situation where she used any authority as a teacher over them to make them enter into what would be considered nonconsensual acts.”

Some 50 people packed into the courtroom for her sentencing hearing on Friday, nearly all of them there to support Lashombe, KWTX reported.

Lashombe pleaded guilty in April to two counts of improper relationship between educator and student — second-degree felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The judge said he was also moved to reduce Lashombe’s sentence due to testimony from her therapist, who said Lashombe has been diagnosed with adjustment disorders, anxiety and depression. She said the teacher also developed symptoms of PTSD for the eight hours she spent in jail after her arrest.