A former teacher's aide has pleaded guilty to attempted child enticement.
Alecia K. Dotson, 46, of Lakeland, was arrested in July after police said she tried to conduct a sexual relationship with an 11-year-old boy.
According to police, the boy's mother confronted her son about sexual text messages, and he told her they were from Dotson, who was his teacher at Highlands Grove Elementary School.
The mother contacted police, who took over the boy's phone and posed as the boy, continuing to communicate with Dotson. Police say Dotson made sexual comments and discussed performing sexual acts with the boy.
Dotson arranged to meet the boy at the movies, where she planned to engage in sex acts with him in her car, police said.
Police say the boy told them he was nervous and scared of Dotson.
On June 30, Dotson was arrested when she arrived at the movie theater to meet the boy, police said. They say they found a pink .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol in her car's glove compartment.
Police say Dotson told them she had started out in a "caring" relationship with the boy, where she was like a "mother" figure to him. She said the relationship had progressed to a "crush," then to "romance."
Dotson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.