Had she been getting boinked by a good little christian high school fotball star nothing would have ever been said.

I would be as bit more sympathetic toward the woman and her mother if the charges came right out of the blue. But they didn't. The young girl's parents made their displeasure with the relationship known well in advance but the older girl persisted with it anyway. How would you react if, when you let an older teen know that you were opposed with the attentions the older teen was showing your young daughter were not welcome, but that teen continued anyway?

I think the felony/misdemeanor thing is a bit overblown but Ms. Hunt didn't show much maturity or good judgement. Since she wasn't prepared to honour the young girl's parent's wishes a good stiff warning from the police should have preceded any charges. If, after that, she still persisted maybe she is a sexual predator.

jim, are you giving the gf a "free pass" on disobeying her parents' wants? ~ isn't the gf as "guilty" as Kaitlyn?

Sooz

i'm ok with the consent laws as they stand.

I wouldn't give her a sexual predator label even if Florida found her guilty.

The gf obviously consented. You don't have a relationship that long without consent in there. If the 15 didn't want to be with the 18 yo she'd have stayed away from her.

Maybe she is, Sooz. But that's not the way we treat it. A thirteen year old may consent to a relationship with a thirty year old guy. She may even declare her undying love for him and run away to be with him. Does that make it okay or get the thirty year old off the hook? We expect the guy to be the rational one of the pair...that the thirteen year old isn't old enough to make such a decision on her own. The same thing applies in this case. The older girl should have been mature enough to know what she was doing was wrong and that she was deliberately defying the younger girl's parents.

The victim isn't 13 she's 15. The perpetrator is 18.

In NJ that's not a problem. In FL it's a felony.

Is the older girl responsible because the younger girl is disobeying her parents?

You're forgetting the entrapment. The younger girl's christianist parents waited until the older girl turned 18 before doing anything. For all we know, they may have never said a word about it until then.

my first boyfriend was 18 when I was 15. I do not consider myself victimized by that relationship.

I think the laws where there is flexibility when the kids are close in age are the ones that make sense. these kids are only three years apart, and are both in highschool. this should not be a crime.

As for disobeying a parent's wishes--that just makes them teenagers. I don't think a parent should be able to criminalize a teen because they dated their daughter against their wishes. Sending this girl to jail because they can't get their own daughter to follow their religion or morality or whatever is ridiculous.

Wouldn't be surprised if the state backed down if they were allowed to "save face".

Good post, greeny ~

Nice thought, oskar ~ my choice would be for the state to suggest the parents perform an anatomically impossible act upon themselves ~

Sooz

The social pressure is seriously building up. There are Change.org, the ACLU, anonymous, etc, etc, etc.
All they'd have to do is order the 2 girls to not be in contact until the younger one turns 16 guaranteed by a $10k bond from the older one.

Seems to me the predators here are the gf's parents, who apparently knew about the relationship but waited for Kaitlyn to turn 18 to bring charges and now refuse to drop the charges if Kaitlyn permanently stops all contact and leaves the state ~ ~ emphasis/bolding below in quote is in original; emphasis/bolding/color red below is mine ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original ~ Sooz

Florida Teen Rejects Plea Deal On Felony Charges For Same-Sex Relationship
By Zack Ford on May 24, 2013 at 3:18 pm

Florida teen Kaitlyn Hunt, who has been charged with a felony for having a sexual relationship with her younger girlfriend, has rejected a plea deal that would have included two years of house arrest and having to register as a sex offender. A statement released by her lawyers argued that she is being selectively prosecuted for having been in a same-sex relationship when she turned 18:


Kaitlyn’s father, Steven Hunt Jr., explained this week that the charges seem to stem entirely from the parents of her girlfriend, who knew of the relationship, but waited until Kaitlyn turned 18 to object. According to Hunt, “Kate has offered to permanently cease contact and leave the state if charges are dropped, but that offer has been rejected by the prosecutor and the girlfriend’s parents.”

Over 270,000 people have signed a Change.org petition started by Hunt calling on Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman to stop Kaitlyn’s prosecution. The ACLU of Florida has condemned the prosecution, pointing out that it’s “a life sentence for behavior by teenagers that is all too common” and that “one cannot seriously maintain that Kaitlyn’s behavior was predatory.”

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/05/24/2061561/florida-teen-rejects-plea-deal-on-felony-charges-for-same-sex-relationship/

“Kate has offered to permanently cease contact and leave the state if charges are dropped, but that offer has been rejected by the prosecutor and the girlfriend’s parents.”

I am glad they didn't accept this. She should not have to leave the state. It's a type of banishment ala Westboro or Puritans and their ilk. Do you think they will also want her to have a scarlet "L" on her chest for all to see?

I understand why she would offer that, but I see it as a sort of acquiescence that borders on admission of guilt.

The parents are out to prove what good Christians they are, to teach their daughter that being a lesbian is shameful and probably in the end.........some $$$$ via a civil suit. They can claim that she "corrupted their daughter and kept her from having a normal sex life with a male" blah, blah, blah. They will never admit that their daughter is a lesbian or maybe bi.

Intentionally and knowingly violating a court order is dumb in the extreme ~ and what the hell was Kaitlyn's mother thinking??? ~ there are some "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original ~ Sooz

Kaitlyn Hunt accused of further acts of ‘lewd and lascivious behavior’ with underage girl
By Scott Kaufman
Friday, August 16, 2013 13:58 EDT

According to prosecutors, Kaitlyn Hunt, the lesbian basketball player accused of having sex with her 14-year-old teammate, defied court orders by not only remaining in contact with the underage girl, but having intimate contact with her as recently as two weeks ago. The two have reportedly been in almost daily contact since Hunt’s last day at Sebastian River High six months ago, when prosecutors allege that Hunt “placed an iPod into the child victim’s locker.”

The state claims to be in possession of “approximately 20,000 text messages,” including over twenty-five explicit photographs of Hunt nude and at least two videos in which she is masturbating. All of the photographs and videos were sent after the court had ordered Hunt not to have any contact with the teenager.

Hunt allegedly knew that she was violating the court order and that doing so could land her jail. Shortly after giving the girl the iPod in May, Hunt reportedly implored her to “be careful,” because “[i]f they find out we talked I’m going to jail.”

The more serious allegation by prosecutors is that Hunt repeatedly met with the teenager, a direct violation of the court order that she not come within 500 feet of her. Prosecutors claim that “the defendant coordinated secret meetings with the child victim,” during which the two “would have intimate personal contact.” Because the Florida criminal code defines this contact as a “dangerous crime,” prosecutors petitioned the court to order a pretrial detention of Hunt and possibly her mother, Kelley Hunt Smith, who is accused of instructing her daughter’s alleged victim to destroy all evidence of the unlawful contact.

Hunt had been offered a deal that did not involve jail time or registering as a sex offender if she plead no contest to two misdemeanor counts of battery and one felony count of interference of child custody. She had not indicated whether she would accept it at the time this new evidence was revealed.

The charges against Hunt point to a conflicting standard within Florida law. While consensual sexual contact with anyone under the age of 16 is illegal, it is only mandatory to report it if the alleged perpetrator is a person “responsible for the child’s welfare.” Thus, as in many states, it generally falls to the parents of the younger person to report the sexual contact and urge the prosecutor to press charges. The parents of the alleged victim in the case have said they only went to the police after Hunt refused to end the romance, while Hunt’s parents allege the younger teenager’s parents only objected to the relationship because it was same sex.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/16/kaitlyn-hunt-accused-of-further-acts-of-lewd-and-lascivious-behavior-with-underage-girl/

No law is going to be perfect. We have to be really careful here. Can we say a 13 or 14 year old can give consent to another teenager but not to an adult? Or, if they are old enough to give consent to have sex should it not apply to whatever age?

I, personally, do not see a 13 or 14 year old as competent to give consent for sex. In many, if not most cases, I see a huge difference in the maturity level of a 14 yr old vs an 18 year old. At most, I would have a 2 yr rule, not a 4 year rule. Maturity level is different for each individual. We can't make laws where we consider that because we end up with idiots making the judgments.

I am certainly not a religious fanatic or prude and I am not anti gay. However, it would upset me if a senior went after my freshman kid. The genders don't matter. I would feel the same way regardless.

I would also say the older girl in this case has proven even she was not mature enough to make the choice because she kept up the relationship after court orders to stay away.

I think the question was valid. Would we feel the same had it been a senior boy and a freshman girl? How about a senior boy and a freshman boy?

Problem is that much of the "judgement" involved in being a judge has been removed.
Too many poor judges have been elected based on their ideology rather than on their sound judgement which, IMO, has led to our current legal/justice mess.