Texas Teacher Avoids Felony Conviction After Admitting Relationships With Two Teenage Boys

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

A former Texas high school teacher who pleaded guilty to two felony counts involving teenage boys has received deferred probation rather than a lengthy prison sentence after one victim’s father urged the court not to send her behind bars.

Shelby Dawn Lashombe, 25, of Waco, was sentenced to six years of deferred probation and fined $1,000 under a plea agreement. Judge Thomas West also ordered her to spend four weekends in jail and serve another 60 days on a county chain gang.

Because the case ended with deferred probation, there is no final judgment of guilt. Lashombe can avoid a felony conviction if she successfully complies with the terms imposed by the court.

Victim’s father asked judge not to send her to prison

Lashombe had pleaded guilty in April to two counts of improper relationship between educator and student, second-degree felonies that each carried the possibility of up to 20 years in prison.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing, however, the father of one of the teenage boys gave testimony that significantly affected the outcome.

According to the report, Judge West told Lashombe that he would have imposed a harsher sentence had the father not testified about how his son was doing.

The father said his son was attending counseling but had not been traumatized by the relationship. He described the teenager as “thriving,” saying he was succeeding academically, performing well on his school football team and had recently been accepted to several universities.

He also told the court that his son did not consider himself a victim. The father said he did not view Lashombe as a sexual predator and did not want her sent to prison.

Boy’s mother gave a dramatically different account

The teenager’s mother, who is reportedly involved in a custody dispute with her former husband, presented a sharply different picture.

In an impact statement, she said her son had experienced depression and anxiety and had withdrawn from friends and relatives.

She also said he wanted to change schools, stopped attending Catholic Mass and skipped his high school prom.

The mother accused Lashombe of “calculated and predatory actions” that had taken away her son’s innocence.

Arrest followed tip involving 16-year-old

Lashombe was arrested in September 2025 after police received a tip that she had allegedly been seen kissing a 16-year-old boy.

According to an arrest affidavit cited in the report, the teenager, who was a family friend, told investigators that he and Lashombe had sex “more than once” and that she knew he was underage.

Lashombe told investigators that the relationship had lasted for approximately six months.

She also admitted to having sex with a second boy who was under 17 and attended a different school.

Neither teenager attended Valley Mills High School in central Texas, where Lashombe was teaching at the time of her arrest.

Defense argues she did not use her position as a teacher

Lashombe’s attorney, Cody Cleveland, argued that she had no authority over either teenager through her teaching position because neither attended the school where she worked.

He said the boys had independently contacted Lashombe through social media and argued that the case did not involve her using her position of authority as a teacher to force them into nonconsensual acts.

Around 50 people reportedly attended Friday’s sentencing hearing, with nearly all of them there to support Lashombe.

The judge also considered testimony from Lashombe’s therapist. According to the report, the therapist said Lashombe had been diagnosed with adjustment disorders, anxiety and depression and had developed symptoms of PTSD following the eight hours she spent in jail after her arrest.

Ultimately, the court chose deferred probation over a lengthy prison term, leaving Lashombe with six years of supervision, a $1,000 fine, four weekends in jail and 60 days of county work — while allowing her to avoid a felony conviction if she successfully completes the conditions of her probation.