Florida strikes again- on teen sex- selective prosecution?

[EVT1]

     As public outrage mounts, fueled by Internet activism, 18-year-old Hunt has until Friday to decide whether she'll accept a   plea deal or go to trial for her relationship with a 14-year-old schoolmate.

     Hunt is charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery in the relationship that the young woman and her parents say was consensual. The students attended Sebastian River High School in Sebastian, Florida,

     "A kid, a child under the age of 16, cannot consent to having sexual relations with an 18-year-old, an adult under the eyes of the law," she said. "And that really is all this case comes down to when you look at it legally."

     The Indian River State Attorney's Office has offered a plea deal that would reduce the charges to third-degree child abuse. As part of the package, she would get a year of probation and two years of monitoring, meaning she would have to wear an ankle bracelet.

     It would be up to a judge to decide if she would be labeled a felon as she moves forward in life

     "This is a life sentence for behavior that is all too common, whether male, female, gay, straight," Graves said at a Wednesday news conference. "High school relationships may be fleeting, but felony convictions are forever."
   
www.cnn.com/2013/05/23/justice/florida-teen-sex-case/

So- is this really the norm in FL to charge a felony when a senior gets caught with a freshman or sophmore when the ages are off?

Legally- sure- the law is the law- but I really wonder how this is normally handled.  I wonder if the same sex angle and the degree of pissed off the parents are had an effect- or even political concerns.

Should a lot of people just count their blesssing they never got caught or does the law stink in this case?  I think many states have updated their laws over this kind of thing- but of course in FL it is going to be an issue.

[Virgil Showlion]

"A kid, a child under the age of 16, cannot consent to having sexual relations with an 18-year-old, an adult under the eyes of the law," she said. "And that really is all this case comes down to when you look at it legally."

Asked and answered.

[pappyjohn99]

Florida has a reasonable “Romeo & Juliet” law. Prosecute this girl to the fullest.

[EVT1]

Are you serious- the both of you? Pappy- are you 90?  Prosecute her to the fullest?  Why?

Holy crap- teenagers had some sex- unbelievable!  To make my point here- 18 is an adult- but to use a legal term- considering the totality of the circumstances- is this a sex crime- hell no.  The current consensus is a 4 year gap prevents prosecution- but even if this did not fit- which it might- do you really think there is some sex crime here?

I do see no one had an opinion on whether this was the norm or politically motivated.

So pappy- if your kid- say some footbal player- got caught in a car with a frosh chick on lover's lane by the cops you think we should brand him a felonious sex offender and ruin his life?  I think you are full of shit or went to high school back when they had smoke breaks.  I would be a felon, most of my old pals would be felons by this rule.  The girl I took to junior prom would have made me a felon.  Are you nuts?  Please explain I have to hear this.

[EVT1]

May 23, 2013 18:10:48 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

"A kid, a child under the age of 16, cannot consent to having sexual relations with an 18-year-old, an adult under the eyes of the law," she said. "And that really is all this case comes down to when you look at it legally."

Asked and answered.

BTW that is man's law- mother nature- AKA GOD- has determined when sex is appropriate.

[billisonboard]

May 23, 2013 18:03:41 GMT -5 EVT1 said:

...
It would be up to a judge to decide if she would be labeled a felon as she moves forward in life

I am okay with this. I think that there are situations where it is appropriate for an eighteen year old that has sex with a fourteen year old should be convicted of a felony. I think that there are situations where it is appropriate for no conviction. Giving the power to make that call to individuals who are directly involved in each individual case is the best option for getting it right.

[Deleted]

The other news reports I read said the girl was 15 and that the parents didn't press charges until the other girl turned 18.  The parents were aware of the relationship all along and did nothing to stop it.  I don't think that they should be allowed to press charges NOW.  That is bullshit. 

Unfortunately this happens to guys all the time.  I do not agree that HS students should be labeled felons for consensual relationships. 

[Virgil Showlion]

May 23, 2013 22:14:49 GMT -5 EVT1 said:

Are you serious- the both of you? Pappy- are you 90?  Prosecute her to the fullest?  Why?

Holy crap- teenagers had some sex- unbelievable!  To make my point here- 18 is an adult- but to use a legal term- considering the totality of the circumstances- is this a sex crime- hell no.  The current consensus is a 4 year gap prevents prosecution- but even if this did not fit- which it might- do you really think there is some sex crime here?

I do see no one had an opinion on whether this was the norm or politically motivated.

So pappy- if your kid- say some footbal player- got caught in a car with a frosh chick on lover's lane by the cops you think we should brand him a felonious sex offender and ruin his life?  I think you are full of shit or went to high school back when they had smoke breaks.  I would be a felon, most of my old pals would be felons by this rule.  The girl I took to junior prom would have made me a felon.  Are you nuts?  Please explain I have to hear this.

The laws that convict this young woman are the same laws that prevent the members of NAMBLA from carrying on 'consensual' "man-boy love". You may not like them, but they're reasonable and in many situations they prevent harm to minors.

[chiver78]

May 24, 2013 0:12:01 GMT -5 imanangel said:

The other news reports I read said the girl was 15 and that the parents didn't press charges until the other girl turned 18.  The parents were aware of the relationship all along and did nothing to stop it.  I don't think that they should be allowed to press charges NOW.  That is bullshit. 

Unfortunately this happens to guys all the time.  I do not agree that HS students should be labeled felons for consensual relationships. 

That is the detail that continues to bother me about the whole thing too. I hope this all gets thrown out, and that Kate can finish her studies. Those parents need to pull their heads out of their asses before they lose their own daughter.....if it isn't already too late. I know I would do my best to distance myself from them if I were the younger girl. Ugh, so sad all around.

sent from my electronic distraction

[Deleted]

I think 14 is awfully young, and 4 years a large gap at those ages. But if some of the other details, parental knowledge, etc. are there? I don't know. I would still move forward, but yes a judge should consider circumstances.

[Shooby]

  I think there is a difference between a Senior and Frosh having a relationship versus a 40 yr old and a Frosh.  If both parties are still in High School, then i think the law should take that into consideration.

[Virgil Showlion]

The parents were aware of the relationship all along and did nothing to stop it.

They did nothing to stop it and yet they press charges as soon as the older woman turns 18.

If we're thinking critically, is this statement the least bit believable?

[zibazinski]

Is it because its a gay relationship, do you think? Or because they had to wait until the older one was 18 to put a stop to it. It amazes me how little control parents seem to have over their children's lives. You don't want your fifteen year old dating? Then she or he stays home after school hours, period. But if you let them have freedom, they are going to do what they want. Life isn't a bubble. But I still remember the mom of an 8 year old telling me she couldn't control what her daughter wore to school. Really? Good luck when she's 13 then if you have no control now. 

[fairlycrazy23]

Given what little facts I have read, my opinion is this should be a misdemeanor or dismissed after probation ; There needs to be repercussions to having this relationship,  but it should not be a life sentence; and a felony and or being labeled a sex offender would do that.

[billisonboard]

May 24, 2013 8:56:15 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Is it because its a gay relationship, do you think? Or because they had to wait until the older one was 18 to put a stop to it. It amazes me how little control parents seem to have over their children's lives. You don't want your fifteen year old dating? Then she or he stays home after school hours, period. But if you let them have freedom, they are going to do what they want. Life isn't a bubble. But I still remember the mom of an 8 year old telling me she couldn't control what her daughter wore to school. Really? Good luck when she's 13 then if you have no control now. 

Step one: Don't have any clothing in the house that you object to the 8 year old wearing to school (don't buy it and throw it out if it is given to her).
Step two: Stop attempting to control it. Who really cares if she is mixing stripes and plaids.

[zibazinski]

But it's done all the time and usually to guys. So what's sauce for the goose isn't sauce for the gander?

[zibazinski]

Step one seemed the obvious to me but what do I know? I was ONLY the one who bought clothes for my children. Step two does make a difference because the girl wasn't wearing appropriate clothing for school as in shorts under her skirt or dresses for PE and athletic shoes. The shoes were a particular issue. The fact that the girl also dressed like a streetwalker, well, ill leave that to mom to deal with. DD had a girl in her K who dressed and talked just like her mother. Not a good thing, poor little girl. 

[Opti]

May 24, 2013 0:12:01 GMT -5 imanangel said:

The other news reports I read said the girl was 15 and that the parents didn't press charges until the other girl turned 18.  The parents were aware of the relationship all along and did nothing to stop it.  I don't think that they should be allowed to press charges NOW.  That is bullshit. 

Unfortunately this happens to guys all the time.  I do not agree that HS students should be labeled felons for consensual relationships. 

If this is true it should be thrown out. The law should be amended if most people think HS students shouldn't be prosecuted under this law. I'm not sure what I think, except a felony seems too harsh for most HS students including this case. I wonder if the parents are doing this in part in hopes of scaring their daughter straight.

[billisonboard]

Given what little factual information I have access to, my opinion is that I will leave it up to the authorities who have much more information to determine the appropriate action.

[Deleted]

May 24, 2013 8:39:05 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

The parents were aware of the relationship all along and did nothing to stop it.

They did nothing to stop it and yet they press charges as soon as the older woman turns 18.

If we're thinking critically, is this statement the least bit believable?

Yes, the way the news reports read, the parents KNEW that there was a relationship.  They could have stopped it at anytime before the girl turned 18.  If they had no control over their own 14 year old daughter, that is THEIR problem.  Why destroy the other girl's (or if it had been a guy) life because they couldn't control their teen? 

I have a young daughter and there is no way I would ever press charges against a boy unless it wasn't consensual.  If I didn't agree with the relationship I wouldn't allow my daughter to see the guy.  If she did it behind my back, she wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere.  But I personally have no problem with a Senior boy dating a younger HS girl.  I dated older guys all the time in HS.  They didn't force me to date them. 

[The Captain]

Sorry but if some 18 yo were banging my 14 yo DD you better damn well believe I'd press charges.

An yet we get outraged when 14yo girls are forced to marry in other countries because of course they are too young to give consent.

[chiver78]

14 yo girls in other countries aren't being forced to marry 18 yo guys (or girls, for that matter), they are being forced to marry guys that are old enough to be their father in most cases. that example is right up there with Virgil's comment about NAMBLA. neither of these are appropriate comparisons to this case.

[Tennesseer]

May 24, 2013 9:36:25 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Sorry but if some 18 yo were banging my 14 yo DD you better damn well believe I'd press charges.

An yet we get outraged when 14yo girls are forced to marry in other countries because of course they are too young to give consent.

They are usually not forced to marry someone who's 3 or 4 years older than them but someone who's 30 to 50 years older than them.

[Tennesseer]

May 24, 2013 9:36:25 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Sorry but if some 18 yo were banging my 14 yo DD you better damn well believe I'd press charges.

An yet we get outraged when 14yo girls are forced to marry in other countries because of course they are too young to give consent.

I'm not an expert on young lesbian sex/love making, but I don't think there's a lot of 'banging' going on.

[Deleted]

I also do not see how girls being FORCED to marry old guys has anything to do with TWO TEENS involved in a consensual relationship that started BEFORE the one girl turned 18.  She was 17.  The parents WAITED to do anything about it until the girl turned 18.  That to me is bullshit.  If they had a problem with the relationship, they should have put a stop to it.  They should have contacted the other girl's parents and told them that they did not want their daughter in a relationship with their daughter. 

My son was dating a younger girl (he did not know her true age because she lied!).  Do you know what the parents did?  They called us and took responsibility for their child.  The girl has done this before.  The father was not mad at our son, but wanted us to know what had happened and that they were making the two end their relationship.  We totally agreed with them.  That is what parents do.  They do not let the relationship continue long enough to press charges.  THAT is bullshit.

[chiver78]

and Angel, that's spot on.

[Deleted]

nothing in the article about whether or not the parents knew anything

where is that information coming from?

also...did the parents tell her to "stay away" from their daughter or there would be issues?

if they did, and she refused....sorry, but we are a country of laws for a reason

14 is NOT old enough to make their own decisions

[mmhmm]

I'm with billis on this one.  I just don't know enough to say, one way or the other, what seems right here.  Fortunately, it's not my job.  It will be the court's job.

[pappyjohn99]

Here are some facts of the case. The rapist was 18, the victim was 14.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/22/kaitlyn-hunt-anonymous-lesbian_n_3318291.html

"In September, shortly after Kaitlyn's 18th birthday, the girls began dating, and they eventually expressed their affection for one another in intimate ways."

Florida’s “Romeo & Juliet” laws are reasonable and humane. Rape laws are waived when the people are with-in a 3-year gap.

The arrest report:

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/05/21/us/hunt-arrest-affidavit.html

What we have here is a predator, arranging meetings in the school bathroom with a minor with the intent to molest her. When the victim ran away from home she brought her to her bed, assaulted her with her hands, her mouth, and with objects. Then enticed the victim to do the same to her. (Do you think that the child’s parents were worried about where their daughter was?) The fact that the rapist in this case was pretty, photogenic, a good student, and gay have no bearing on the case. She is a predator, and should be treated as such. Welcome to the equality that you have been demanding.

As far as my son is concerned, I taught him from the age of 13 that rape is a crime, and “15 will get you 20”.  No "Romeo and Juliet" law in my state. Too bad for the victim in this case that her parents didn’t do the same.

The fact that I could grab a smoke between classes have no bearing on this issue.

[swamp]

When the victim ran away from home she brought her to her bed, assaulted her with her hands, her mouth, and with objects. Then enticed the victim to do the same to her. (Do you think that the child’s parents were worried about where their daughter was?) 

Assaulted her?  Did you actually read the arrest report?