the judge will not the teenagers pushed for a harsh sentence and that angered the family of jennifer fichter. these fireworks appeared to mark the end of a story that has gripped the headlines for years. to finally a minute she did have sex with students she expressed remorse but few expected the 22 year punishment. decision they do not second- guess themselves. >> reporter: the attorney pushed hard for relief same studies that show women who behave this way are doing it for emotional reasons and are not predators. they brought up several cases. >> i've been doing this over 35 years. you try to compare case to case and drive yourself crazy. the emotions several families impacted one way or another. ryan raiche, abc action news. >>> now the most accurate weather team in florida. abc action weather. >> good afternoon, everybody. we are looking at cloudy skies but we are still dry with a few showers south in sarasota. today temperatures even warmer with mid-80s today and still in the uppe at 81 and apollo beach 77. palm harbor over to clearwater in the mid 70s. the dew points are back in the up

in court, jennifer fichter admitted to having sex with three teenage boys. the judge called the central florida aerospace academy english teacher a predator. she was remorseful but still given a harsh sentence. today she plans to ask for a significant reduction. listen to the judge admonishing her in court last year. >> you have a long time to let your faith work in your life so that when you come out you are a different person. >> reporter: detectives said the former teacher had sex with one student 20 to 30 times in the back of her pickup truck. news channel 8 will have a crew in the courtroom when the ar >> a lot of folks will be watching this one. thanks, ryan. >>> federal investigators are trying to figure out why an ohio state university student went on a rampage driving his car into a crowd and stabbing multiple people on campus. investigators are looking at abdul razak ali artan's posts. he injured 11 people before being shot and killed by an ohio state officer. eliminated the threat. >> the officer, an ohio state university graduate, is being called

admitted to having sex with a student more than 20 times and two other teenagers this morning jennifer fichter will ask a judge to shave off some of the 22 years she was ordered to serve in state prison. ryan hughes is joining us live from the polk county courthouse. why is fichter asking for a lighter sentence? >> reporter: well, good morning once again. reports show she wants a reduction in her sentence because she claims the victims were willing participants and there are more suitable treatment options outside of jennifer fichter was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for having sex with three teenage boys. the judge called the teacher a predator. she was remorseful but still given a harsh sentence. today she plans to ask for a significant reduction. more details will come out in court. here is her last year in court when she apologized to the [ inaudible ]. >> detectives said fichter had sex with one student 20 to 30 times in her pickup truck. we will have a crew in the courtroom when the hearing gets underway at 8:30 this morning. >> a lot of folks will be watching this case. than

today, a judge decided jennifer fichter must serve a 22 year sentence for having sex with three teenage boys. melissa marino was in the courtroom and joins us now. a whole lot of emotions on this day. >> reporter: today really ripped open old wounds for aerospace academy. this is where she was an english teacher and where she lured in her victims. >> you don't know. you don't know. >> reporter: an explosion of emotions. >> stop it. >> reporter: outside the courtroom, a heated exchange between the parents of one of the victims and jennifer fichter's family. persons life and i did because your daughter put us in that predicament. >> the testimony was that -- broke -- >> reporter: this after the famous teacher put a judge behind bars for having sex with multiple teenage boys, ruled she must continue serving her entire 22 year sentence. >> the sentence will remain as it is. >> reporter: victor -- factor's attorney argued the boys were willing participants. a psychologist took the stand. >> she must have had some need >> reporter: painting the picture of a depressed woman looking for validat

"jennifer fichter" was convicted of having sex with three of her polk county students. she was sentenced to 22 ?years in prison. fichter was in court ?hoping to get a lesser sentence, but the judge denied that motion. fichter is also facing charges in hillsborough county. those a house fire in plant city is being called ?suspicious this morning. and it's partially because of the ?graffiti that was found all over it. the home on johnson street burned early tuesday morning. luckily no one was home.. they were actually house-sitting for family in lakeland. and after the fire was out, daylight revealed some spray painted anti-trump messages both inside and outside the home. the homeowner, matthew smith, believes he was targeted for being a trump supporter. smith says he didn't have any trump signs in his yard, but he was active on facebook supporting trump, the second amendment, and other conservative causes. investigators are looking into possible connections between this and ?other arsons. earlier this month, anti-trump grafitti was sprayed on two mobile homes near mango.

last year jennifer fichter was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for having sex with three teenage boys. in court the judge called her a predator. she was remorseful but still given a harsh sentence. today she plans to ask for a significant reduction. more details will come out in court. here is fichter last year when inaudible ]. >> detectives said fichter had sex with one student 20 to 30 times in the back of her pickup truck. we will have a crew in the courtroom when this hearing gets underway at 8:30 this morning. >> a lot of folks are watching this case. thanks, ryan. charges. ammit santiago is accused of molesting a girl in 2014. the incident happened before he worked at eisenhower middle school. he has since resigned from his job at the gibsonton school. >>> in cuba, thousands are lining up to pay respects to fidel castro. that take a look at the -- take a look at th he has a look at the final farewell. >> reporter: today tens of thousands of cubans are coming out to pay their respects to fidel castro. later today there will be a service in revolution plaza, a place where fi

a judge decided jennifer fichter must continue serving his 22 year sentence. her attorneys argued the victims were willing jail to get treatment. afterwords, her family and the victim's family got into a heated exchange. >> you have no place. >> stop it. >> i don't hate you. i don't hate you either but let me tell you something. is your son alive? is he alive? >> your daughter is to. >> my daughter -- >> stop, stop.>> fichter's attorney has 30 the decision. >>> the wildfires scouring the tennessee you mountains are forcing thousands to flee to safety. the scene in and around gatlinburg is utter devastation. hundreds of homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, flames beginning to damage the edge of the dollywood theme park.>>> now, 8 on your side special coverage on the death of fidel castro. thousands are pouring into revolution plaza in havana, the tribute is part of nine days of mourning across the island nation and news channel 8 will have a crew there every single day. a massive public memorial will be held tonight for fidel castro. news channel 8 is in

a judge decided jennifer fichter must continue serving a 22 year sentence for having sex with multiple teenage boys. the former teacher admitted to having sex with one of the students more than 20 times as well as having sex with two other teenagers. after the ruling, the parents of a victim fichter's parents got into an argument. >> we had to make a decision that affects another persons life. i did because your daughter put us in that position. >> reporter: a lot of emotions after the hearing. her attorney has 30 days to appeal the decision. >>> and now special coverage on the death of fidel castro. thousands are pouring into revolution plaza in havana, cuba, just ahead of a memorial for the leader who died at the nine days of mourning and news channel 8 will have a crew there every single day. raul castro will speak during a massive public memorial honoring his brother tonight. news channel 8 is in the middle of this historic event. jeff patterson is the only reporter in cuba covering castro's death. he is joining us now from havana. >> reporter: cuba is in nine days of mourning. for

. >> that was the mother of jennifer fichter and the parents of one of the victims. that is the lakeland teacher who had sex with three teenage students. a judge sheds -- sentenced her to prison but today her lawyers murderers have received a lighter sentence. the judge kept the original sentence. >>> the popular tourist spot on fire in gatlinburg and it is the mountain city that many people vacation at 35 miles southeast of knoxville. this is that mop there. this is what it looks like right now with thousands last few seconds that at least three people have died. the press conference is happening right now. let's listen in. >> we were not able to get into last night because of the speed of the fire and how quickly it spread and our emergency responders tried to get intel's areas but the trees were down and there was electrical lines down so we are now house by house in the cities and counties to make sure that everyone is out and there are no more losses. that effort is continuing as we speak. we are focused on clearing roads and check on anybody in distress. we are

we're talking about jennifer fichter currently serving a 22-year sentence. she claims she needs to be out of prison to get treatment. it's been testified that she has a good prognosis for treatment because she took responsibility. boys one of the students 20 to 30 times in her truck. >>> developing this morning dozens of guns were stolen in a matter of minutes early this morning after thieves used a track as a ram to crash through the front of the tampa gun store. now, dangerous weapons are in the hands of criminals and we explain how law enforcement is responding. >> dozens of firearms were stolen in a matter of minutes from this gun store smashed through the front window cameras caught a large group of bold criminals leaving behind broken glass and a big mess at the tampa arms company early this morning. >> vehicles smashed through the front entry of the business, at numerous individuals numerous individuals entered the store cleared off the walls and cabinets and removed the firearms. with approximately 40 firearms including handguns and long guns. >> we

jennifer fichter pleaded guilty to 37 child sex charges last year, but now she wants her sentence reduced for several reasons she says, among them her victims were willing participants. she's also citing mental health issues and a lack of treatment options in state prison. >>> we're waiting on big announcements from president- elect donald trump. >> vice president-elect mike pence says today is going to be a benchmark day for the trump administration. he says that going to plan to nominate georgia representative tom price to head the department of health and human services. price has been a vocal critic of obamacare calling it a threat to quality and affordable health care. mr. trump has made repealing and replacing obamacare one of his goals. >>> meanwhile president-elect trump is causing a stir following his meeting with retired general david petraeus yesterday. trump is considering petraeus for secretary of state. director of the cia after he shared classified information with his mistress. mr. trump is also having a second meeting with mitt romney today. >> coming up this morning, if

>>russell: a judge in polk county refuses to reduce the sentence for former teacher jennifer fichter. she's serving a prison sentence for having sex with three students. she faces additional charges in hillsborough county and those cases are still pending. protestors went to jail yesterday for blocking traffic in ybor city. they sat down in the middle of north 21st street and they refused to move. most of the other protests were peaceful. nothing out of the ordinary. they were part of a national demonstration by minimum wage workers demanding $15 an hour. and it's not just fast food employees. some of them work in health and child care. >>russell: here we go. this is a story causing a lot of heartbreak, outrage and anger among animal lovers. in los an over the fence and ended up at animal control. and when the owners came to pick her up, something happened. see there in the video? the dog's tail is wagging, she's excited. she sees her owners. do you know what? they just walked away. video was posted by a worker. the owners say their dog had they wanted a new, happier puppy. so they ju

jennifer fichter pleaded guilty to 37 child sex changers last year. she wants her sentence reduced among them she says her victims were willing participants. she's also citing mental health issues and a lack of treatment options in state prisons. >>> a tainted thanksgiving dinner is suspected of killing three people in california and making five other sick. they ate thanksgiving dinner at an american legion hall. more than 800 people ate the same food. now local health officials are investigating to see if more people got sick. one person is still in the hospital. four released. >>> florida's no longer the only state with locally transmitted zika cases. texas reporting a locally transmitted case. health officials say lab results cob firm the virus in a woman living in brownsville last week in south texas along the mexico border. that woman has not traveled to an area where the virus is circulating. >>> later this morning we'll get our first look at how you and your children can enjoy downtown clear water's expanding coachman park and adding views of t

last year jennifer fichter was sentenced to 22 years in prison on more than 30 charges. judge called her predator. today she's back in court after serving only a year and a half. fichter wants her sentence reduced. her attorneys are arguing that fichter has mental health issues. she can't get appropriate treatment in prison. >>> i think what you have is you have an accumulation of factors that no accumulation of factors lead to these kinds of what most of us consider odd, unusual behaviors. >>> the expert witness says fichter has emotional issues an eating disorder and may have been sexually abused as a child. but the state pointed out that that expert witness never even met fichter. he just studied transcripts from the trial. we'll have much more from the courtroom coming up in our later newscast. >> new at noon a bald eagle is almost two months ago the eagle was hit by car in clearwater and hurt its wing. busch gardens and other local res crew groups nurseback to. was released this morning. check it out. he didn't look back. it's giving tuesday. a day to give to those

"jennifer students fichter was hoping to have her 22-year sentence reduced, but a judge denied that motion in court yesterday. fichter is also facing charges in hillsborough county. those cases are still pending. world leaders visited havana to honor fidel castro. yesterday... the presidents of ecuador and south africa arrived. they joined cubans in their 9 days of mourning. for many african groups... castro is remembered as a leader who fought to bring an end to the former leader died last friday at 90 years old... since then cubans have been commemorating his life. tens of thousands of people gathered at the plaza of the revolution last night. a mass eulogy was held for castro there. it's the same place where he delivered fiery speeches to massive crowds after he seized power in 19-59. yesterday's ceremony included nearly 4 hours of speeches... marking the most high profile event of castro's week of mourning. will begin a procession across cuba. right now... they're being held in an urn at the plaza of the revolution-- but not in a public viewing area. the procession will retrace the pat