Florida Stepmom Locked Up for Sex with Stepson

Not a story you hear every day and. thankfully not. A Florida nurse is going. to spend time in prison after her. husband walked in on her having sex with. her teenage stepson. But it was the. boy's bravery in coming forward and. telling the truth that is what helped. police nail the now convicted sex. offender. We are going to sit down with. a Florida attorney to talk about a plea. deal, the defendant's fate, and the. disturbing details of how we got here. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. 35-year-old Alexis von Yates, a nurse.

who at one time was working in Marian. County, Florida, will now spend the next. two years in prison, followed by a. lengthy probation period after she. sexually assaulted her 15-year-old. stepson. In court this week, before Van. Yates sentencing, that teen's mother. called Van Yates a coward and incestuous. pedophile for abusing this boy while he. stayed with his father in Ocala over the. summer vacation in 2024. An affidavit. that was filed in court in November.

contained what can only really be. described as graphic and stomach. churning details which the team provided. to investigators after eventually. telling his mother what had happened. after returning home to Washington DC. Now to talk about this case to talk. about Vanett sentencing I want to bring. in a different Alexis Florida trial. attorney Alexis Rosenberg. It's not like. we picked you because you have the same. name but you do have a specialization in. covering these kinds of cases. You know, I don't know what the most shocking part. of this case is. The fact that Von Yates.

apparently seduced her 15-year-old. stepson, that her husband, his dad, walked in on them in the middle of the. act, that he encouraged his son not to. tell anyone what happened. What's your. reaction? >> I mean, the whole thing is disturbing. that the stepmom would do this. And the. fact that the father appears and is. advising the son not to say anything. I. mean, you would think that the first. reaction of the father would be to.

immediately call the police as well as. the child's mother and advise, you know, both parties of what had just happened. >> And it is kind of remarkable to be. thinking about and now that she's been. sentenced, it's not it's a very. different kind of situation. Now, I'm. going to get into her nursing license in. a minute, but if you haven't been. following the story, I'm going to give. you a quick rundown of the accusations. that this teen had made. So, he told. investigators that his dad was working. overnight as a lineman and he was.

hanging out with Von Yates in the living. room after his younger half siblings had. gone to bed. He says they stayed up. late. They were playing video games. They were watching movies. They were. even using Yates marijuana vape pen. And. police paperwork indicates that the teen. told a forensic interviewer that Yates. had been making sexual jokes in front of. him for approximately a week leading up. to that night. Now, Alexis, let's just. stop right there. Some would say this is. grooming. Would you agree with that? >> I would agree with it was grooming. I. mean, she was very aggressive and I.

don't know how much in detail we're. going to get into exactly what she said. to him, but it is public record and it. actually is even in part of the filings. having to do with her nursing license, but it the night it we're going to. assume there was more conversations. similar to the ones that took place on. the night of the incident, but it was. it's extremely disturbing the things. that she was saying to him. And. according to an arrest affidavit, he. also disclosed that he hadn't had any. sort of sexual experience before and was.

infatuated with Bates. Now, according to. the arrest affidavit, quote, "The. suspect and child victim kissed." As the. suspect began escalating, the suspect. said, "A man, I wish you were 18 because. you're not old enough." The teen told. the interviewer that he performed oral. sex on her. And this escalated with the. two then having sex. He says when his. father came in unexpectedly found them. on the couch, he ran to hide in another. room. The teen claimed that his father. told him to pack his things to go stay. at his grandparents' home. And as he was.

packing, he claims he overheard Bates. telling his father that she was sorry. and that this child victim looks like. his father when he was younger. Now, Alexis, I think it's important to note. in any case, particularly this one, we. always wonder how can an allegation be. credible if it's just based on purely. someone's account. I've always said, are. things just so unbelievable, so outrageous, so crazy that it has to. be true? Like, how could someone make.

something like that up? Well, I think in this situation, it's. not just a he said, she said because we. have the situation like you had. mentioned that the father walked in on. them. And then it also sounds like there. was some admissions that were going on. that were also made. I mean, here here's. the bottom line. We have a grown person. that is sexually assaulting a. 15-year-old child. This is a child that. we have and there's been studies done. that there is obviously some severe.

mental health concerns for this child. when this type of thing happens to them. So I don't think that we had in this. case that it's so absurd somebody maybe. made it up situation but it is cons. concerning in many sexual assault uh. cases. >> Let me ask you something. Have you ever. walked out of a meeting and just thought. wait what did we what did we just. decide? Or maybe you sat through a great. discussion, but you kind of lost track. of the action items later. Look, I've. been there. I I'll admit it. But that is. why I want to bring your attention to.

our partner, Plaude AI, and their newest. product, the Note Pro. So Notepro is an. AI meeting assistant designed for. leaders. It's about the size of a credit. card. It's slim. It's portable. It's. perfectly integrated with your phone. And I will tell you, I can use it in. brainstorming sessions when we're. planning new episodes of Sidebar or. interviews. And it picks up voices from. up to 16 feet away. It filters out. background noise and it can record. nonstop for up to 50 hours. But here's. the real game changer. It captures. absolutely everything. Audio pictures,

written notes, highlights, and then the. app turns it all into a structured. summary with insights, clear to-dos that. you can share with your team. And with. Ask Plaude, it's like having a second. brain. It can draft follow-up emails. It. can pull data reports. It can even help. you brainstorm. And by the way, it's all. based on the context of your meetings. Plus, no pro gives you some peace of. mind because the display screen shows. your recording status. It has Apple find. my fast file transfer. It meets the. highest privacy standards. So, I feel. secure using it even for the most. sensitive of topics. And if you're like.

me and you want to make the most out of. your time, it is time to try the Plaude. Note Pro. So, right now, you can get 10%. off of Plaude's other features. Note and. no pin with code Jesse. Just click the. link below or scan the QR code on. screen. And it only gets worse because. according to the teen, multiple family. members discouraged him from talking to. the police or telling his mom what. happened. His aunt also allegedly told. him that Van Yates had been saying that. he manipulated her into having sex. Have. you heard anything like that before, Alexis?

>> Well, first of all, honor the law. That. can't be because he's the minor. She's. the adult. There's no it's it's black. and white. There's no if she had sexual. intercourse with him, then it doesn't. matter if he quote unquote enticed her. And you know what's interesting here? I. think what sticks out is if this would. have been in the reverse where you would. had a stepfather with a female. stepchild, then we might not have been. having this conversation. I think what's. jumping out here is the fact that it's.

that kind of old like thought that I. thought our society had gotten past of, oh, he probably wanted it because he's. this 15year-old boy. Um, and you know, she was doing a favor, which is. ridiculous. She sexually assaulted this. child. >> And the idea of trying to keep it quiet, you know, I don't want anybody getting. in trouble. Don't want family getting. involved. Don't want people knowing. what's going on. This is like next. level. >> Yeah. I mean, I'm curious. I don't know.

if if the husband's still with her or if. he plans on but based on his actions, that kind of sounds like that his intent. instead of writing away going and filing. for divorce. I don't know if that is the. case here. I mean, there's no excuse. I. would assume it would have come out if. she had done other than the joke. something else. But the question is, what other inappropriate things maybe. had she done previously. that have have not come to light yet? >> Yeah. So when police arrested her in. November, according to the affidavit, it.

says Yates advised she did not wish to. speak with me without a lawyer present, but made several unprovoked statements. about believing that since the. Department of Children and Families had. closed their case, she was in the clear, saying the incident was so accusatory, attempting to put blame on the child. victim. So Von Yates was released on a. $10,000 bond until September 16th when. she received her sentence. And. prosecutors had initially upgraded her. charges to sexual battery by a person in. familiar authority, which is a.

first-degree felony, carries a maximum. sentence of life in prison. But she. opted to take a plea on a lesser charge. of lewd and lascivious battery on a. child between the ages of 12 and 16. And. that plea deal came after the judge. determined earlier this year that the. victim's statement in the weeks and. months after the assault that would be. allowed in at trial. Can kind of guess. here, Alexis? Right. She probably felt. I'm going to lose. Let me uh let me let. me try to take the best deal I can. >> Criminal cases do plea out as we all.

know a lot of times. So that's not. unusual. What's unusual in this. particular case is first of all we had a. major downgrade of the charge. So we go. from sexual battery which she faced life. imprisonment all the way down to LWD and. lascivious which maximum is 15 years. So. that's number one. The next thing is. there's a scorecard when you are. sentenced and we had a major downgrade. off of that scorecard. So what took. place was the judge which they're.

supposed to do is have a conversation or. the prosecution is supposed to have a. conversation as well with the victims. How do you feel about this plea? And. what happened was that the mother of. this minor child was very concerned that. this child was going to have to testify. in an open court. Now in Florida, a lot. of people don't know this that a minor. would have to testify in open court. This case we're talking about here got.

quite a bit of media attention. It was, you know, on social media as well. and. the mother was severely concerned about. the child having to testify in open. court and relive what had happened to. him. So the mother as well as the child. were they agreed to the plea and that is. why the judge because the judge could. have kicked this plea out. The judge. could have said, "No, this is going to. trial." But that's why in this. particular case, the judge agreed to.

accept this plea, which really two. years, two years for what she did really. is very minimous. >> I agree because my understanding, like. you said, is under state law, this. victim would have, you know, been. required to testify and have to be. cross-examined. I mean, even getting on. the stand in general is really tough to. do and can be very stressful, but to. have to face cross-examination and. questioning your account and you know, a. lawyer potentially calling you a liar. making up the allegations. Look, people. will say she should spend decades in.

prison, but to in the interest maybe you. put the interest of justice to the side. and you think about the overall effect. here and you think about the benefit to. this victim of not having to go through. that. It's tough to say if this is the. right ending. >> I mean, that's in my opinion, that's the. judge. It's the judgment of the victim. and that's why the prosecutor went and. spoke to the mother and the victim about. what do you want and what do you think. is justice. I would believe that the.

mother and the victim would want her to. spend much longer but she's still going. to prison as well as you mentioned. before she was a nurse. She's on route. to permanently lose her license. >> Let's talk about it. So, first before we. even get to that, according to a local. paper, Ocala News, in an order. authorizing the plea deal, the judge. wrote, "Most persons have never had to. observe the adverse impact that. testifying publicly can have on a child. who is required to recount the most. intimate and private details of their. life in a jury trial." This court has.

had that opportunity, and that adverse. impact cannot be overstated. That impact. would have been undoubtedly amplified in. the instant case where the substance of. the victim's testimony would be made. public in a profound, far-reaching, and. permanent way. The order went on to say. that Vanett's plea spared the victim the. exposure, embarrassment, and. retraumatization that would result from. being compelled to recount some of the. most intimate moments of his life so. far. So, what does this plea mean for.

her? Well, again, 2 years in state. prison, probation for 10 years, 200. hours of community service with the. Marian County Solid Waste Litter. Control. She has to register as a sex. offender, no contact with the victim. during this entire sentence. Alexis, before we go further, her life after. prison is no picnic. What do you see. generally for people after they leave. prison? I. >> mean, the big thing is that she's on. that sex registry. Now, remember that's. public record. people do not want people.

on that record in their neighborhood. that she potentially is going to have. trouble finding housing. She potentially. is going to have trouble finding a job. So, her life definitely is going to. change substantially and also going to. prison. That's no walk in the park, but. it's going to change substantially. Jesse, going back to that about the. child testifying, many people don't. understand that and why that has to be. And that's under the sixth amendment.

right for confrontation. So it's a. constitutional right, but it really is. retraumatizing that child. It and it is. a balance and a lot of prosecutors that. prosecute these sexual um type cases, it. is something that they have to take into. consideration and you know because you. they have to relive it like you said. Now, since she spent a little bit of. time in the Marian County Jail before. she was released on bond, two days were. marked down as time served. The court. indicated that the victim and his mother.

were in 100% agreement with this plea. deal. This is something we've talked. about. But one other thing to think. about here, Alexis, as far as we were. able to see, she didn't have any prior. criminal history. Is that strange to. you? Like, is this a one-off? Is this. part of a compulsion? Are other people. haven't come forward? It has to start. somewhere. But, you know, at the same. time, when you talk about someone who's. committed a crime, sometimes they lead. lead law-abiding lives and then one day. they commit murder. So, it's not. surprising. We've seen that. But, does.

it surprise you here that you're not. seeing else anything else? >> It doesn't surprise me. I I think that. why this is slightly different and it. shouldn't be like I mentioned before is. you have the woman is the person. perpetrating the sexual assault on a boy. and there's all of that background and. perceptions that are attached to that. So it's very possible that she was doing. inappropriate things with other minor. boys and they may not have said anything.

to anybody. I mean, if you think that. this child would have listened to those. adults that were saying don't say. anything and didn't go to his mother, then she may have gotten away with this. I mean, that's the bottom line. So, how. many other times was she during the. course of her life put in a position. where she maybe didn't take it this far, but it, you know, it came, you know, close and nobody said anything and there. were no ramifications. >> That's a good point. Look, this case has.

had consequences beyond the court. proceedings. The state of Florida. suspended Bonnet's nursing license after. her arrest in an order of emergency. suspension of license. The state's. surgeon general wrote, "Miss Yates's. continued practice of nursing. constitutes an immediate serious danger. to the health, safety, or welfare of the. people of the state of Florida, and this. summary procedure is fair under the. circumstances to adequately protect the. public." Alexis, what do you think about. that? >> So, yeah, she should have under the the. rules, she's supposed to what's called.

self-report. So when she was arrested, she should have self-reported this. So. this goes on to support kind of just her. MO. You know, she's like thinking, "Oh, they're not going to find out." I don't. know what she was thinking in her head, but she didn't self-report and it forced. them to do this emergency suspension. Now it's only a suspension. So there's. now a proceeding to permanently take. away or revoke her license, which I. think this is going to be a slam dunk. there because now she's been convicted. So, in other words, you don't see a path.

by which once she's released from. prison, she could ever get a nursing. license back in Florida or another. state. >> She could reapply, but I do not see that. they are going to approve based on these. circumstances because there really is a. basis to say she is a danger to the. public. And that is kind of their the. the threshold that they're going to look. at, you know, is she a danger? There are. circumstances where somebody could be. convicted of a crime and they are able.

to keep their license. There's different. avenues. They can put in restrictions. They can make sure they have oversight. There's other things that the licensing. board can do, but in this circumstance, especially with this conviction at this. point, no, I think they're going to. revoke her license permanently. And even. if she attempts to apply, I don't. foresee her being able to get it back in. any state. She would have to disclose to. any other state that her license had. even at this point been emergency. suspended and she would have to disclose. that if it is permanently revoked that.

that happened. If she didn't do that. once they found that out that would be a. basis alone for not um giving her back. her license. >> Uphill battle. Uphill battle to say the. least. Um, you know, there's another. consequence to what happened here, and. maybe not surprising, but it's been. reported that the victim's relationship. with his family has been massively. damaged. According to the New York Post, the boy's mother told the judge that. Vanet's actions ruined the teen's. relationship with his father, claiming. the two haven't spoken since this.

happened. And that's something, Alexis, we we we think about the ripple effects, the ramifications of something like. this. We don't even know if Van Yates is. talking in a relationship with the boy's. father, but talk to me about the effect. that this has now had. >> I think the problem when you have sexual. assault, like you had brought up, Jesse, that you know, a lot of times it's hard. for people to fathom or believe that. that took place or they don't want to. They're in denial. It it does tend to. sometimes separate families.

Unfortunately, I can't speak to the. father's motivation. Obviously, you. would hope that he would support and. stand by his son for what happened to. him. And hopefully moving forward, it's. my understanding the boy is in therapy. for this. Hopefully, moving forward, they will be able to have a. relationship, not for the father, but. for this child's mental health. You. know, we all hope that he gets there and. this doesn't have permanent effects on. his life. that this is a ripple and with.

that therapy that helped me move forward. and and be able to be, you know, a happy. functioning adult. >> What a case. Alexis Rosenberg, thank you. so much for taking the time. It was good. to see you. >> Thank you for having me as always, Jesse. >> And that is all we have for you right. now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank. you so much for joining us. And as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcasts. You can follow. me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. See you next time.

[Music].