A Marion County stepmother accused of having sex with her teenage stepson has pled “no contest” to a charge of lewd and lascivious battery of a minor, just over a year after she was caught in the act by the boy’s father.
Alexis Von Yates offered a plea of nolo contendere, or “no contest,” in her case in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on Thursday, August 21.
She will be sentenced in the case at 8 a.m. on September 16, just over thirteen and a half months after she was caught by her husband while she was having sex with her stepson.
In the weeks after the incident, the victim, who was 15 years old at the time, was pressured by family members not to divulge details to authorities. Accordingly, Yates was not arrested until several months later on November 6, 2024.
Ocala-News.com first reported the arrest on December 5, 2024. Five days after that report, Yates pled not guilty to the charge.
Later that month, the Florida Department of Health issued an emergency order to suspend Yates’ nursing license. That was followed by a formal administrative complaint filed by the state seeking an order to permanently revoke Yates’ license at a later date.
In May, the testimony of the victim was deemed admissible by the court and last month, a relative and potential witness came forward to indicate that she had not been properly noticed for her deposition in the case. The docket shows a subsequent notice of taking deposition was filed shortly after that letter was received by the court.
According to state law, a charge of lewd and lascivious battery on a person 12 to 16 years of age by someone in familial custody is a second degree felony that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and a lifetime registration on the state’s sexual offenders’ list.
Ocala-News.com was unable to determine before the publication of this story whether or not Yates changed her plea for any consideration from the state attorney’s office.