Kaitlyn Hunt was a 17-year-old lesbian high school student, and got involved with another girl, who was 14 at the time.
She lives in Florida. Here's 2 pictures of her:
If you want to gawk at 15 other pictures of her, go to this link: http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-504083_162-10016885.html
Anyway,
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_1...attorney-says/
The younger girl's parents were unhappy about this relationship. It is unclear if it's because it was a lesbian relationship, or because of the age difference, but I'm guessing the former. They waited until Kaitlyn turned 18, then reported her to the police.
Kaitlyn was arrested and charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years of age as a result of the relationship. The prosecutor's office will not drop the charges.
Ignoring the lesbian aspect of this (which is what's getting everyone's attention), I always felt that laws like this were really stupid. California, for example, makes it a felony for two teenagers one day apart in age to have sex if the "older" one is 18 today and the "younger" one turns 18 tomorrow. This is obviously not the spirit of the law, but it's the one on the books.
Florida's law makes it a crime for anyone over 18 to have a sexual relationship with anyone under 17, meaning an 18-year-old senior in high school would be committing a crime by having sex with a 16-year-old junior.
Again, laws that criminalize sex with minors should only target older (or at least somewhat older adults), and should always take into account the age difference between the two parties. If the age difference is reasonable to where it could be considered a normal relationship between teens, there should be no crime.
Some states have a "4-year-rule", where it is not a crime to have sex with a minor if the minor is at least 14 and not more than four years younger than their partner. I support this law, as it essentially protects all high school students from statutory rape charges when dating one another, and is allows reasonable relationships such as a 17-year-old dating a 20-year-old. At the same time, it punishes older perverts who prey upon teenagers.
Nevada actually has an age of consent of 16, which I think is wrong. I don't think guys my age should be allowed to legally have sex with minors under any circumstances, but Nevada allows it, while at the same time, criminalizing a relationship between an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old.
I think all of these laws need to be updated.
Unfortunately, this most important aspect of the story is getting drowned out by the "OMG gay persecution" screams and the "wow, look at the hot 18-year-old girl getting arrested for lesbian sex" gawking.