LI Teacher Offered Plea Deal In Teen COVID-19 Vax Case: ICYMI

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Tuesday, May 4, 2022.

SEA CLIFF, NY — Prosecutors have proposed a plea deal that would dismiss a misdemeanor charge against a Long Island teacher who purportedly gave a teenager a COVID-19 shot without his mother's permission, Patch has confirmed.

The Nassau County District Attorney's Office extended the deal to Laura Parker Russo, 54, on Tuesday, according to Newsday, which first reported the story.

Russo, a biology teacher at Herricks High School, was arrested on New Year's Eve after authorities said she administered a shot of what appeared to be the vaccine to a teenager in her Sea Cliff home. The 17-year-old boy later returned home and told his mother, who then called the police and said she never gave consent.

Russo was charged with the unauthorized practice of a profession. She pleaded not guilty to the charge.

However, under the plea deal, Russo would admit to the misdemeanor charge and a disorderly conduct violation, a district attorney spokesperson told Patch.

She would also be required to perform 50 hours of community service before sentencing. Once completed, Russo would have her misdemeanor plea vacated and receive a conditional discharge on the disorderly conduct violation.

Nassau District Attorney's Office spokesperson Brendan Brosh says a violation is not a crime and does not go on your permanent record.

The violation, which Russo cannot appeal, will not be sealed, he added. In this instance, the judge will also sign an order instructing Russo not to harass the 17-year-old boy.

If Russo fails to perform all 50 hours of community service before sentencing, she will be sentenced to three years' probation.

In a statement to Patch, Brosh said prosecutors extended the deal to Russo based on her "long-standing ties to the community and her lack of a criminal record."

Russo's attorney, Gerard McCloskey, told Patch that he expects his client to take the plea deal.

"I think that the D.A. took my client's past and her character into consideration in making this offer," he said. "She is a woman who offered her life to community service. She was involved in the Peace Corps... I think all of that was taken into account."

Russo is scheduled to appear in Nassau County's First District Court on June 13, 2022.

SEE ALSO:

• LI Woman Gave Teen COVID-19 Shot Without Parental Consent: Police
• LI Teacher Reassigned After Unlawfully Vaccinating Teen: School