Florida Teen Expelled, Charged With Felony For Lesbian Relationship

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Judd Legum - Think Progress


http://i.imgur.com/43SQNDj.jpg

A Florida family says their 18-year-old daughter was charged with a felony and expelled from high school as a result of a consensual, same-sex relationship with another student.

Kaitlyn Hunt started dating a female classmate at the beginning of the school year when she was 17 and the girl she was dating was about three years younger. According to an account posted to Facebook by Kaitlyn’s mother, in February, shortly after Kaitlyn turned 18, she was arrested on felony charges at the behest of her girlfriend’s parents. The specific crime was “sexual battery on a person 12-16 years old.”

Kaitlyn’s mother believes the charges were motivated by anti-gay animus:


They were out to destroy my daughter, they feel like my daughter “made” their daughter gay. They are bigoted, religious zeolites [sic] that see being gay as a sin and wrong, and they blame my daughter.

But Kaitlyn’s problems did not end there. Her girlfriends’s parents appealed to the school board and had her expelled from Sebastian River High School. Kaitlyn’s mom reports that the State Attorney, Brian Workman, has offered Kaitlyn a plea deal “of two years house arrest and one year probation.” Kaitlyn has until next Friday to accept the plea deal or face a trial.

The family has started a petition calling on the state attorney to drop the charges against Kaitlyn.

[deebakes]

:nom:

[DemonGeminiX]

Ridiculous.

[Bushviper]

So this was fine while she was under the age of 18. It only became a problem when she could be charged?

[Noraf45]

So this was fine while she was under the age of 18. It only became a problem when she could be charged?

The other parents probably weren't fine with it then, but saw a way to have the law do their dirty work for them once she turned 18.

[perrhaps]

If you think the law is stupid, fine. Otherwise, why should the criminal charges against her be dismissed when they wouldn't be if she were an 18-year-old man?

[Hal-9000]

is there a movie?


8-[

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By COLLEEN CURRY - ABC News


http://i.imgur.com/3OMbtlx.jpg

A Florida high school senior was expelled from school and is facing felony charges for a sexual relationship she allegedly had with a fellow girls' basketball teammate who is three years younger.

Kaitlyn Hunt, a cheerleader and basketball player at Sebastian River High School, is facing two counts of felony lewd and lascivious conduct on a child ages 12 to 14 for her alleged relationship with a freshman classmate.

She has denied the charges, which were filed earlier this year in Indian River County.

The girls were 18 and 14 when they became sexually involved, according to an arrest affidavit by the county Sheriff's Department. The girls basketball coach at the high school found out about the relationship, told the younger girl's mother, who also works as a coach, and kicked Hunt off the team, according to Hunt's family.

The younger girl's parents then contacted police, according to the Hunt family.

The police set up a phone sting operation in which the 14-year-old called Hunt and asked her details about their relationship, according to the affidavit. Police then arrested Hunt in February, based on the details the girls discussed on the phone, according to the document. She was charged and spent 24 hours in jail before posting bond.

The Sheriff's Department did not return calls for comment. The Florida State Attorney for the 19th Judicial District Office, which oversees Indian River County, has also not responded to a request for comment.

Hunt's family says the 14-year-old student's parents are angry that their daughter was in a same-sex relationship, and decided to go to police, according to Andrew Gay, Hunt's uncle and the family spokesman.

"Our understanding form the other family is the reason they initially pursued this case is because they're unhappy with their daughter being a same sex relationship," he said. "It would appear to be the case if Kate were a male this wouldn't be happening."

The freshman's parents also twice asked a judge to provide a court order banning Hunt from attending Sebastian River, but the petition was denied, Gay said. The school board then expelled Hunt from the school, and she has been attending an alternative high school, he added.

The Indian River School District declined to comment on the case except to say that it followed the district's student code of conduct in dealing with the situation.

The case has sparked outrage in the Indian River community and online, where petitions and a "Free Kate" Facebook page have gained more than 20,000 followers, which has fueled the recent interest.

"Our family's perspective on this is that Kaitlyn made a poor choice, but this is something that could have been dealt with between families," Gay said. "But they refused to talk. They've been very aggressive. I understand feeling like you need to protect your child, but I don't understand ruining another child's life."

He said the 14-year-old has told police she was in the relationship voluntarily, but the girl's parents are pursuing the action. The younger student's identity has not been released by police or the Hunt family.

Gay said the family understands that the significant age difference between the girls led to the legal problems, but said it points to a wider, national problem of seniors in high school facing jail time for becoming involved with freshmen.

"Just because you turn eighteen doesn't mean you're the wisest person on earth," he said. "This happens all the time with males. It's a national tragedy that seniors in high school are going to jail for dating freshmen. If they shouldn't be intermingling with one another, then they shouldn't be in the same school."

Hunt has pleaded not guilty to the charges, but has been offered a plea deal by the prosecutor's office that she must decide whether to accept by Friday, according to Gay.

The prosecutor's office offered Hunt the chance to avoid jail time if she pleads guilty to felony child abuse, he said.

"She's hanging in there, but it's been rough," Gay said. "She's spent three years doing medical training in high school and had plans to start college and a nursing program.

"A felony convict can't become a nurse, so that would ruin her plan for her entire life."

[Muddy]

:nom:

This.. :lol:

[deebakes]

Paging Ms. K. Hunt, Ms. K. Hunt line 1 :rofl:

[deebakes]

A. Gay, K. Hunt's uncle :lmao: