Florida teen Kaitlyn Hunt has pled no contest to misdemeanour and felony charges in connection with her relationship with a 14-year-old girl, CNN reports.
According to Florida statutory rape law, anyone younger than 16 cannot consent to sexual activity.
According to CNN, Hunt has been in jail since August for flouting a court order that forbid her from contacting the 14-year-old. Under a deal negotiated between defence and prosecuting attorneys, Hunt will serve four months in prison, in addition to a two-year house arrest that includes electronic monitoring and a nine-month monitored probation, the report says.
If Hunt does not violate the deal’s terms, she will not be a convicted felon under the state’s law and may be able to have her file sealed and the case against her expunged after 10 years, CNN quotes one prosecutor as saying.
In a May video report, Hunt’s mother described the situation as “very difficult” and said she “wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
Hunt’s prosecution had sparked outrage among her advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which says she is being labelled a criminal for behaviour that “‘occurs every day in tens of thousands of high schools across the country, yet those other students are not facing felony convictions . . . and potential lifelong branding as sex offenders.”
Hunt’s father has alleged that his daughter was targeted because of her sexuality, but a state attorney said her sexual orientation had nothing to do with the case or the law.
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