Background
Kaitlyn Hunt is an 18-year-old girl, a former student at Sebastian River High School in Florida, who is faced with two felony counts of “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 to 16” after the parents of her 15-year-old girlfriend pressed charges earlier this year.
The girls began dating in November 2012, when Hunt was 18 and the other girl was 14. Their “mutual consenting relationship” had been known to both parents for months prior to the arrest.
According to Kaitlyn’s mother Kelly Hunt-Smith, police arrived at the family’s home Feb. 16 and put her daughter in handcuffs.
Result
The other girl’s parents repeatedly tried to have Kaitlyn, a senior, expelled from school. Despite the Sebastian River High School administration’s denial of their request, and a judge’s order allowing Kaitlyn to remain in school (so long as the girls had no contact), the 15-year-old’s parents successfully petitioned the school board to have Hunt removed from school weeks prior to graduation.
The state attorney’s office offered Hunt a plea deal, which includes two years’ house arrest and a year of probation, which would stay on her adult record and limit her career choices, according to Examiner.
In a news conference on May 20, Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar said that age difference, not sexual orientation, determined prosecution of the high school senior.
“If this was an 18-year-old male and that was a 14-year-old girl, it would have been prosecuted the same way,” Loar said.
Reactions
Although local media appear to have been largely silent on the case, public outcry over the charges against Hunt has erupted in an outpouring of support on the Internet.
A Change.org petition urging the Indian River County State Attorney’s Office to stop prosecution of Kaitlyn Hunt had drawn more than 30,000 signatures at time of writing.
“Free Kate,” a Facebook group supporting the girl had amassed more than 10,000 followers.
Internet activist group Anonymous launched #OpJustice4Kaitlyn on May 19,releasing a statement addressed to the Indian River County State Attorney’s Office that reads in part:
“Kaitlyn Hunt is a bright young girl who was involved in a consensual, same-sex relationship while both she and her partner were minors. She has a big future ahead of her and there are people, thousands of people in fact, that have no intention of allowing you to ruin it with your rotten selective enforcement.”
My Opinion
I think it is necessary that organizations such as Free Kate work something out for the girl. Obviously gay marriage is not legalized in FL yet, but people should have the right to date whoever he/she wants. Another point is that a dating relationship, at least in this case, is 100% mutual. A 15-year-old is in fact capable of choosing the person he/she wants to date, speaking from my own experience and people around me. Thus, I believe Kaitlyn’s right to a normal dating relationship should not be restricted in this case.
Reference:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/19/kaitlyn-hunt-florida-teen-felony-same-sex_n_3302713.html
