FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Jury selection concluded Wednesday in the trial of Beth Friedman, a former schoolteacher accused of having had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student.

Friedman, 42, faces up to 76 years in prison if convicted of three felony charges that arose from her relationship with Donald Vaden, now 19. The Hollywood, Fla., woman is accused of using sex, drugs and cash to keep Vaden in the relationship even though he was a minor at the time.

Friedman, free on bail, pleaded not guilty and denies the accusation. She was teaching at Silver Lakes Middle School when she was arrested in August 1999. The trial was delayed several times but finally began Monday with jury selection.

The panel includes four women, two men and three female alternates. There is a retiree, an optometrist, a businessman specializing in developing businesses in minority neighborhoods, a college bookstore owner, a single mother and an administrative assistant.

The retiree, a man, said during questioning by lawyers Monday that he thought a young man having an affair with an older woman was almost a rite of passage, but he returned the next day and said he had thought it over and concluded that such a relationship was immoral.

Police and prosecutors say Friedman lured Vaden into a sexual relationship by boosting him up a grade in school and buying him clothes, marijuana, jewelry and a car.

Friedman's lawyer claims that she was the victim of a shakedown by a scheming Vaden. Friedman denies having a sexual relationship with the teen, charging that he threatened to tell authorities that their friendship was something more unless she continued to supply him with gifts and cash.

During the trial, Vaden is expected to detail the incentives that he claims Friedman offered him for sex —gifts and drugs which he says he willingly accepted.

"She was like, if I have sex with her, I'll give you a car," Vaden said in a deposition. "I thought it was a good deal. What would you think about that?"

Vaden also told police that Friedman offered him $25,000 to impregnate her. Vaden told his parents about the alleged offer and they notified police. Darius Vaden, Donald Vaden's younger brother, is also expected to testify about what he knew of the relationship between his sibling and Friedman.

Opening statements are expected to be delivered Monday.