Plea deal expected in school sex case

By Matt Pordum

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 11:25 a.m.

A former University of Nevada, Las Vegas basketball player accused of having had sex with female students while working as a substitute high school teacher plans to plead guilty, attorneys said.

Cornelius Ausborne, 29, who was a substitute at Grant Sawyer Middle school, will plead guilty to one count each of lewdness with a minor under 14 and sexual conduct between a school employee and a pupil. He will appear before District Judge Sally Loehrer on Sept. 1.

Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich Rego said the count of lewdness carries a maximum sentence of 10 years to life in prison and the sexual conduct charge carries a maximum of one to six years in prison.

Ausborne had been a substitute teacher at the middle school for two months. Authorities say they began their investigation earlier this month after hearing reports a teacher was having sex with students. Ausborne was fired after school administrators were informed of the charges.

Luzaich Rego said Ausborne first denied doing anything wrong in either case, but over the course of two more statements admitted to all of the charges against him. Specifically, Luzaich Rego, said Ausborne admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old at her home and to fondling a 14-year-old girl in his classroom.

Ausborne's attorney, Stephen Stein, said both offenses were probational, but would not offer any insight as to how he would argue his client deserved probation saying "those arguments will be heard in court."

"Lisa (Luzaich Rego) for the first time discussed a possible plea negotiation in the case with me yesterday," Stein said. "We discussed it briefly and I ran it by my client and his family around 5:30 p.m. My client and his family discussed it until about 8 p.m. and decided to sleep on it, and they took it."

Stein said Ausborne has been "doing fine" living in Texas with his family and only coming back to Las Vegas to go to court. He marveled at the support his family has provided him.

"For someone under the pressure he's dealing with he's doing really well," Stein said. "I attribute a great deal of it to his family."