FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A man who says he looked after Donald Vaden as if he was his own son testified Wednesday that he saw teacher Beth Friedman hanging all over the teenager frequently and that both often appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

Steven Burroughs proved to be a strong witness for the Broward County prosecutor trying to send Friedman to prison for statutory rape. Assistant State's Attorney Stacey Honowitz called Burroughs to support Vaden's testimony last week that he and Friedman had a sexual relationship and that she gave him money to buy drugs.

Burroughs' testimony also lends support to that of the 42-year-old defendant's neighbor, who testified Dec. 7 that she saw Friedman and Vaden, now 19, hugging face to face in a swimming pool.

"When someone's hanging on you and is always close to you and isn't allowed to go anywhere without you, that's usually a boyfriend-girlfriend thing," said Burroughs, the father of Vaden's former best friend. "I didn't have to question him. He told me that [Friedman] was his girlfriend."

The prosecution is trying to prove that Friedman became obsessed with Vaden when he was a 14-year-old student in her study skills class at Silver Lakes Middle School in North Lauderdale. Prosecutors claim that Friedman performed oral sex on Vaden when he was 15 and engaged in sexual intercourse with him when he was still a minor in the eyes of the law.

Friedman denies ever having sex with Vaden. And for the first time Wednesday, her lawyer said in open court that he believed that Vaden, his mother and former stepfather may have been partners in a "conspiracy to extort money" from Friedman. James Vaden, the former stepfather, testified that he and ex-wife Grisel Vaden went to police in June 1999 after Donald Vaden confided that he had sex with Friedman; he denied any conspiracy and insisted he had no financial incentive for reporting to police suspicions about the relationship.

The jury of six that has been listening to testimony since Dec. 3 did not hear the remark by defense lawyer David Bogenschutz about the alleged conspiracy. It came during one of several hearings by Judge Stanton Kaplan about legal issues.

One of the issues concerned a motion by Bogenschutz to strike all of the testimony by Burroughs. Stroking his long, ZZ Top-ish beard, Burroughs testified that he watched about 60 minutes of James Vaden's testimony on Court TV on Tuesday; he said he was unaware that it violated a witness sequestration order.

Another issue involved Bogenschutz's third motion for a mistrial, which was denied. The defense objected to a decision by Kaplan to excuse a juror who complained of having a high fever and abdominal pains. Juror Nancy Hamilton, who was replaced by an alternate juror, told reporters as she left the courthouse that it "wouldn't be fair" for her to talk about the case until it is over.

Witness: Friedman appeared 'lit'

Burroughs, the 10th of 12 scheduled witnesses by the prosecution, testified that Friedman often accompanied Vaden to the trailer park where Burroughs lived with his son, Steven Erb. Vaden and Erb were best friends until Vaden stole $250 from a dresser, Burroughs testified.

He called Friedman a "jealous female" who was prone to "temper tantrums" and often appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

"She was lit ... It appeared to me she was on downers. You could tell she was floating," said Burroughs, who admitted to being a marijuana smoker.

Erb, who may be the prosecution's last witness Friday, is expected to tell the jury that he saw Friedman performing oral sex on Vaden inside her car at a drive-in movie theater. Bogenschutz has indicated that Erb's story has changed somewhat since 1999 and suggested it is too bizarre to be believed.

In fact, the defense lawyer has been using his questions as a sort of testimony. For example, he asked James Vaden Wednesday whether he was aware that his ex-wife and the neighbor who testified to seeing the bear hug had gone to a shopping mall to encourage a witness to lie. The witness, Eva Rudnick, was Friedman's roommate but moved out before Donald Vaden, his brother, Grisel Vaden and her then-boyfriend moved in with Friedman in August 1998.

James Vaden said he knew nothing about the alleged incident. Rudnick has not been called as a witness so far and never gave a police statement. Sarcastically, Honowitz asked Vaden how often he, his ex-wife and family friend Dorry Press met to go over their testimony and encourage witnesses to lie.

"We never concocted anything," he answered.

Bogenschutz has been able to get almost every prosecution witness to testify about Donald Vaden, an admitted car thief, high school dropout and drug abuser. The defense lawyer charged that Vaden may have even gotten a break on a car-theft charge because he was the prosecution's main witness against Friedman.

Honowitz objected strongly to the suggestion that Donald Vaden was treated leniently in exchange for his testimony, without which the case could have not gone to trial.

Again testifying through his questions, Bogenschutz asked James Vaden whether he was aware that his son's nickname on the street was "Grand Theft Auto." No document nor any witness who has yet testified has offered such evidence. Vaden said his son's nickname was "Ace."

Testimony resumes at 9:45 a.m. on Friday. There is no court Thursday. After the prosecution rests, Bogenschutz will deliver the opening statement he did not give at the start of the trial, which was his right.

The trial is being broadcast by Court TV.