after spending about six years in prison, stephanie ragusa is out. she will stay here at the continental inn in clearwater. a place for offenders getting back into society. >> they have to get her to transition into as normal a lifestyle as possible. >> reporter: there transitional homes. he spoke with ragusa and her family prior to her release. >> she is overwhelmed right now. for sure. you know. so, she is worried about many things. >> reporter: ragusa's story made national headlines. the former middle schoolteacher had sex with two students between 2006 and 2007. her victims were then 14 and 16 years old. ragusa was convicted in 2010 at pain and aggravation i have caused to the victims and their families. >> reporter: judge tharpe called her a sexual predator. >> if i had to sum up your attitude in one word it wow arrogance. >> reporter: she was released for good behavior. broderick believes she is a changed person. >> i know she is a success story. it is time to move on and put it behind everybody so this young person can get her life back togeth

stephanie ragusa walked out of prison today. jamel lanee shows us where she is now staying as she tries to get her life back on track. >> reporter: after spending about six years in prison, stephanie ragusa is out. she will stay here at the continental inn in clearwater. a place for offenders getting back in society. >> we are here to help her >> reporter: jim broderick runs several transitional homes. he spoke with ragusa and her family prior to her release. >> she is overwhelmed now for sure. she is worried about many things. >> reporter: ragusa's story made national headlines. the former davison middle schoolteacher had two students in 20 reporting in pinellas county, jamel lanee, newschannel8. >> well, she stirred up anger from trump supporters earlier this week at amalie arena. now, amy schumer has a few more words for tampa bay. >> dearest tampa ... , i'm sorry you didn't want me, a comedian who talks about what she believes in to mention the biggest thing going on. squaren, amy schumer sarcastically apologized for what sh

stephanie ragusa was convicted having relationships with two 14-year old boys.. in 2006 and 2007. she taught special education at davidsen ragusa is now a registered sex offender... and will spend the next 15 years on probation. more accusations against a lakeland mental health counselor. psychotherapist "anthony conti" is facing extra charges of sexual misconduct after four (?more women came forward... bringing the total to six potential victims. all are former patients. conti is accused of making sexual advances towards them during counseling sessions... claiming it was part of a new treatment called "touch therapy." he was in court new felony charges. one bay area man is feeling pretty lucky this morning. and there's about 745 ?thousand reasons for it. "alonzo cherry" from clearwater won the florida lottery's "gold rush doubler scratch-off" game. he bought his winning ticket from the marathon gas station on bruce b downs boulevard in tampa. and because they sold the winning ticket-- the store gets a two-thousand- dollar bonus. we're told cherry paid just 20-bucks for thousand-d

guilty to having sex with two teenage students is going back to the bay area, the state releasing stephanie ragusa from prison today. she spoke exclusively to abc action news reporter after her sentencing, she will be staying at the continental in, she is as a sex offender. >>> fiat chrysler recalling 124,000 jeep wranglers because the airbags may not inflate during a crash, recall covering 2016 and 2017 wranglers, some center wiring can come loose. no injuries related to the problem. >>> still to come, potential danger next door, you may not even notice it, the miss signs spotting a criminal enterprise in your neighborhood.>>> the lucky break that saved the lives of two women. >>> another beautiful day today , mid to upper 80s the sunshine not going anywhere, warmer temperatures are, i will tell you about the cool down this dramatic rescue in south florida, two port st. lucie women getting stuck in a lake in the vehicle, the driver accidentally hit the gas instead of a break at the stop sign, the area usually does not have traffic but thankfully two men happened to be nearby and quickly jumped in

in 2010 stephanie ragusa was sentenced after pleading guilty. she was a teacher at davidson middle school in tampa. she will now be required to register as a sexual offender.>>> a mother and her seven-year-old daughter are fighting for their lives right now after being hit by car on their walk to a dangerous bus stop. deputies tell us they were walking in the dundee area when two in the group were hit. the two were walking in the street. the driver told investigators he was cleaning off his windie family.>> they worked on night and had just got off work. they did not see them. >> the mother and her seven- year-old are in clinical -- critical condition.>>> now saint pete police officer suspended accused of driving under the influence. deputies found officer anthony green sleeping behind the wheel he was also arrested for dui back in 2009. >>> deputies believe they have caught the driver who hit and killed a 74-year-old woman and left her to die on a polk county roadway. they believe jarvis kendrick a successful bank executive was behind the wheel

we will tell you where stephanie ragusa is going the live and what neighbors think about her moving in. plus, sneaking in while they were asleep. how the victims of these burglars made it easy for them to get inside their home. >> are people from puerto rico illegally voting in u.s. election ins a bay area man claims they are and they are members of his family. >> those stories plus your storm team 8 forecast and sports with paul ryan. station that is always on your side. y251cy yi0y amendment 1 guarantees your right to generate your own solar energy. it also guarantees that those who don't choose solar commonsense consumer protections safeguarding seniors-and all floridians from scams, rip-offs, and long-term contract traps. that's the right way to do solar. amendment 1: good for the economy. good for the environment. good for florida. >> right now, on newschannel8 at 6:00. >> a corrections officer taken for a terrifying ride by an inmate. we are going to show you how the kidnapping came to an the final presidential debate tonight. we are live in las vegas for all of the fireworks. >>