TAMPA - Stephanie Ragusa, a Hillsborough County teacher charged with having sex with some of her underage students, recently sent a letter to Nick Bollea, the incarcerated teenage son of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.

In the letter, which Ragusa addressed to "Nick Hogan," she wrote that while they don't know one another, she feels sympathy for him and thinks they have been dealing with a similar level of attention from the public and media.

"It's not us, Nick, but something 'off' with society, that our situations garner more attention + print than the President, the election, or even an earthquake killing thousands," Ragusa writes. "Nothing prepares you for nor prevents it; sensationalism."

Ragusa wrote that he remains in her prayers.

"You have more people support + pulling for you than you will ever know. I believe the character of an individual is measured over the long haul. And I have no doubt that you will rise above your current surroundings having experienced a personal inner growth known only to yourself in these many hours of isolation."

Pinellas County sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said today that Ragusa's letter was received this week.

Detention deputies recognized the Falkenburg Road Jail return address, she said.

The return address also included Ragusa's docket number.

Officials were concerned, Pasha said, because Bollea is a minor and because of Ragusa's history.
The letter was sent back to Hillsborough County authorities, but eventually a copy was given to Bollea, Pasha said.

Bollea, 17, pleaded no contest last month to a charge of reckless driving involving serious injury and was sentenced to eight months in jail. On Aug. 26, he crashed a car into a tree in Clearwater, leaving his passenger, Iraq war veteran John Graziano, with brain damage.

Ragusa, 29, was charged March 13 with having sex with a 14-year-old boy. She was arrested again a month later after investigators identified another victim, now 16. Investigators say that two weeks after the second arrest, Ragusa drove her boyfriend's truck to the 16-year-old's house and had sex with him.

Hillsborough County sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said Ragusa didn't commit a crime by writing to Bollea.

"She was just was just corresponding with someone outside of her jail cell. It wasn't one of the victims and witnesses in her case. At this point in time, it was legal and lawful."

Callaway said it is impossible to gauge how frequently highly publicized inmates correspond with each other via letters.

He declined to comment on the similarities of the inmates' cases other than to say "each case is standing on its own. One case is concluded and one is pending."