Teacher's Aide, Student Fight Over Custody Of Child

HOUSTON -- A former teacher's aide who had a child with a 13-year-old student was in court Tuesday in a custody fight over the couple's daughter, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

Lisa Zuniga Duran was 27 years old when she worked at a Pasadena church school and admitted to having had a relationship with a then-13-year-old male student. She was sentenced in April 2003 to 10 years of probation, 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Zuniga was pregnant Jan. 24, 2003, when she pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child. Her daughter was born on Feb. 7, 2003.

The boy's family allowed Duran to initially raise the girl as long as they were granted visitation rights and Duran was supervised.

The now-17-year-old student and his parents want custody of the child, and said Duran, a registered sex offender, should not raise the girl.

He wants to take his daughter back to Oklahoma, where he lives with his parents.

The teenager testified Tuesday that he could provide a better life for the girl than Duran, whose conviction as a sex offender prevents her from associating with children unsupervised.

"When it comes to my criminal case, I plead guilty. But when it comes to me being a bad mother, I’m not guilty," Duran said in August 2005.

Duran also testified Tuesday. She broke down as she described her fears of being separated from her daughter.

She said she worried that the child would be exposed to physical and emotional abuse if she's sent to live with the boy and his parents.

"Lisa's been a great mother for the last three years. It's the only family that this child has ever known and we're asking the court to find that it's in her best interest to continue living with this child," attorney Helen Simotas said.

The teenage father denied that his parents have ever been abusive. He just graduated from high school and is expecting a second child with his girlfriend in Oklahoma. He said he plans on supporting his children with a night job while attending college.

"He has the support of his family. He didn't choose this. She chose to make him the father. He has those rights. That's his child," attorney Butch Bradt said.

The judge is expected to rule on the case Wednesday.