If it were a male and a female, would people care as much?

[LSN80]

In the case of 18 year old Kaitlyn Hunt, who is charged with lewd and lascivious battery of a minor, her attorney and supporters don't think so. Hunt is being charged due to a consensual, sexual relationship with a 14 year old female.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/justice/florida-teen-sex-case/index.html?iref=allsearch

Hunt had until today to accept a plea described as 'very leniant' by authorities, one in which she would have had to plead 'no contest' to child abuse, spend two years on "community control"(essentially, strict supervision), another year following on probation, and refrain from any and all contact with her 14 year old girlfriend.

Hunt rejected the plea and could now face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Her attorney, Julia Graves, in rejecting the deal, issued the following statement:

"This is a situation of two teenagers who happen to be of the same sex involved in a relationship. If this case involved a boy and girl, there would be no media attention to this case."

Maybe so, but would the boy be charged all the same? Absolutely. In the state of Florida, the age of consent for having sex with an adult(18 and above) is 16. Since Hunt is 18, she's considered to be an adult, and regardless of consent, Hunt broke the law.

Graves continued:

"Our client is a model citizen. She has been placed in an environment of school with her classmates where they go to school together, have lunch together, and play on the same team and are allowed to have communication and contact without barriers. Then when something develops between the two as a result of this environment created by the state, it leads to criminal prosecution."

I can understand what Graves is saying here, but the solution is simple. You wait to have sex. Even dating back to my time 13 years ago in high school, they taught you the law regarding statutory rape in Health class. It was the 14 year old girl's parents who turned Hunt in, and Hunt's supporters are insisting that the only reason they did so was that they don't want their daughter to be 'gay'.

But would it make it any less illegal if it was a boy? Would they then not want her to be heterosexual?

It's a hard dynamic, as schools do foster environments where 18 year olds and 14 year olds can play sports together, eat together, and at times be integrated into the same classroom. In that respect, they're being treated as equals, both high school students. But the maturity levels between 18 and 14 are astounding, hence the law.

Graves concluded:

"If this incident occurred 108 days earlier when she was 17, we wouldn't even be here."

She's right, of course, and it' entirely possible that the two began their sexual relationship before Hunt turned 18, if they did so at the beginning of the school year. In that sense, it's a difficult situation. Still, what choice does the DA have in pursuing charges? It's a matter of law, not of semantics, which is unfortunately the case here. Hunt herself commented on the situation:

"I'm scared of losing my life, the rest of my life, not being able to go to college or be around kids, be around my sisters and my family."

A natural feeling, and it makes the situation all-the-more a sad one. Personally, I think there should be a way to tell kids such as Kaitlyn Hunt that having sex with someone 3 or 4 years younger then them, at that age, is improper, without the risk of prison or being labeled a sex offender. Hunt has already been expelled from school, which to me, is too harsh, especially since she's only been charged with a crime, not convicted of one. Further, her crime was at worst one of "manipulation", and most likely, poor judgment.

Which is why it baffles me that she didn't take the deal. State Attorney Bruce Chilton, who is assigned to prosecute the case, released the following prepared statement:

"We tendered an extremely lenient plea offer in this case which would have ensured that the defendant avoided any term of incarceration and the stigma of being labeled a sex offender. In fact, in all probability the defendant would have avoided being a convicted felon."

Does she believe so strongly in her 'innocence' that she's willing to risk up to 15 years in prison? It's a line in the sand I don't understand, that's for sure. But many of the things she fears: Losing out on college, friends, and a future, she's the one risking by going to trial. And that has nothing to do with gender.

If you were Hunt, would you accept the deal? Why do you think she rejected it?

If a sexual relationship begins when one is 17 and another is 14, as is possible here, is it splitting hairs to charge the 17 year old when she turns 18?

If you were the parent of the 14 year old, would you turn the 18 year old in, male or female?

Any other thoughts or discussion surrounding this story are welcome.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Even dating back to my time 13 years ago in high school, they taught you the law regarding statutory rape in Health class.

Personally, I think there should be a way to tell kids such as Kaitlyn Hunt that having sex with someone 3 or 4 years younger then them, at that age, is improper, without the risk of prison or being labeled a sex offender

Presumably, they did tell her, the same way they told you & all the rest of us. Plus, the lesson was explained to her when they asked her to accept the plea.

Which is why it baffles me that she didn't take the deal.

Denial. It's the same as the parents of the 14-year-old who turned Kaitlyn in because they "didn't want their daughter to be gay".....as if prosecuting the 18-year-old was going to alter their daughter's gender preference. That was denial, too. Kaitlyn figured if she explained her reasoning to the authorities, they'd see it her way, regardless of the law. Leading to Kaitlyn saying:

"I'm scared of losing my life, the rest of my life, not being able to go to college or be around kids, be around my sisters and my family."

Yes, but she had a damn good deal on the table and chose to reject it....so it's now too late to worry about those things. It isn't a question of the authorities being blind to the individual situation; plainly, they recognized it.

If a sexual relationship begins when one is 17 and another is 14, as is possible here, is it splitting hairs to charge the 17 year old when she turns 18?

Possibly, but when the law is involved, you're at the mercy of the legal system and how close to the vest they want to call it. When a minor is involved, logic often goes out the window. Too often, the authorities confuse a 14-year-old with a 6-year-old when dealing with minors. The 6-year-old essentially can't be blamed for anything when an adult is involved, whereas a 14-year-old is perfectly capable of finding a gun and holding up a convenience store. Yes, the 14-year-old probably knows better, but the law sees her as a victim in this, and goes after the adult.

As far as male-female or female-female is concerned, jailbait is jailbait. This was explained to Kaitlyn and they gave her an almost painless way of dealing with it, yet she wanted to be completely absolved of blame, which was unrealistic.

It's one thing to not be given a choice at all, but when you're offered one and opt not to take it......tough rocks, girl.

 

[i'm a cm punk girl]

So if she was a year younger it wouldn't be a crime? If this was a guy no one would care. Plenty of 15 and 16 year old girls date guys that are 18. I know I did and no one cared because it not that big of a age difference.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Toughie... my mother was 15 when she had me, 14 when I was conceived. My father was 9 and a half years her senior. She would never confirm who he was until sufficient time had passed that it did not matter. I will be 40 in December and they will celebrate their 39th Wedding Anniversary the same day.

So what has this to do with the price of snow from Eskimos? Well, my mother and a number of her friends dressed and acted like they were much older than they actually were (and she was not the only one to marry someone comparatively much older) - basically, my father wasn't aware that he was dating jail bait until they'd been dating a while.

They say that girls mature quicker than men as a general rule but, even under this generalization, certain girls mature much quicker than others. As such, the younger girl in this story might actually have been the one manipulating the older girl. Is this in itself a defense? No, but surely some consideration should be given to the feelings of the 14 year old? Less than two years need to elapse for this to become a non-story and something that only prudes and zealots will get their knickers in a twist over.

We don't know the complete story behind this and, as such, it well may be the case that the 18 year old did lead the 14 year old astray... but then again, maybe it happened the other way around or maybe it was just attraction between two girls who in the grand scheme of things are similarly aged.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

While I do have sympathy for this Kaitlyn Hunt, at the same time, I think this case is a pretty good example of how biased the justice system can be. If this had been an 18 year old boy with a 14 year old girl, I highly doubt that this would have become national news. Also, if it had been a boy, I don't think there'd be people from sea to shining sea wringing their hands in concern over this situation. I think they'd have simply thrown the book at him and that'd be the end of it. After all, it's extremely chic to be a gay teenager these days and we still sort of put on the blinders when it comes to thinking that women can be as predatory as a man sexually. Also, the fact that Kaitlyn Hunt happens to be a white, attractive blonde with green eyes who looks like the All American girl next door only jacks up the interest & sympathy from many all the more. If it'd been a guy and he looked like someone who looked like he could be part of the Wyatt Family then, again, I think people would have simply written him off and let the chips fall where they may without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Looking at this particular situation, 13 and 14 years of age, in my opinion, is too young to be dating, let alone being involved in a sexual relationship. Maybe I'm a little old fashioned that way but I've seen a lot of pregnant 14 year olds in my day and, in my opinion, it's not at all chic no matter how much money MTV makes off of Teen Mom and 16 and pregnant. Now pregnancy wouldn't be an issue in this situation, obviously, and the reaction of law enforcement officials really kind of stems from demonization sexual behavior has gotten in our society. When you get right down to it, statutory rape is mostly an example of law makers that've been able to legislate personal morality as state & federal law. Simply put, a lot of law makers feel that you should have to be a certain age before you're able to legally participate in some of life's biggest moments. It always struck me as a little funny because you're old enough at age 18 to drive, get a job, enlist in the military and vote but you can't buy a six pack from the local gas station. Basically, law makers are saying that you're responsible enough to get behind the wheel of a 2,000+ pound vehicle & take it out on the road among other people, work & contribute to society like every other tax payer, join the military & possibly die while serving your country, to make your voice known in who you think should be leading the country but they don't think you're responsible enough to toss back a few.

Many people convicted of statutory rape, primarily men, do often get a raw deal. Just because Hunt is 18 and her girlfriend was 14 doesn't automatically make her some sort of perverted, sexual deviant or child molester. In many ways, and there are incalculable doctors who'll say this, you're still a child yourself at age 18. I have a niece that's 7 years old and the idea of her having a sexual relationship when she's 13 or 14 and her partner is 18 doesn't exactly make me feel warm & fuzzy inside. As I said, in my personal opinion, that's too young really for dating.

As I alluded to, many stat rape cases don't really come across as fair as, in many cases, the laws aren't applied equally among the genders. I've been a corrections officer since I was 25 and seeing the law applied unfairly because you happen to be born with a vagina rather than a penis really bugs the crap out of. Maybe Hunt did show poor judgment in beginning a relationship with this 14 year old girl, just as many young men have shown poor judgment in similar situations, and all sex offenders are NOT the same. There's a MASSIVE difference between forcible rape a young girl doesn't want to and/or lacks the mental capacity to consent and this particular situation.

 

[Davi323]

As Sally said, jailbait is jailbait. It makes absolutely no difference to me that the 18 year old in the relationship has a vagina instead of a penis. If Kaitlyn had been Kevin, and the 14 year old girl's parents pressed charges, nobody would even blink at it. This exact situation, where an 18 year old is breaking the law by having sex with an underage partner happens all the damn time, the only difference with this one is that they are both female. As if it matters.

Regardless of if you think the statutory rape laws are outdated, the laws exist. Kaitlyn knew that when she was 17, and she still knew it after she turned 18 and continued to have a sexual relationship with a minor.

For those of you who age of consent laws are outdated, when is it appropriate? At what ages should it be legal? If 18/14 is perfectly acceptable, what about 19/14? How about 21/13? What is the line you draw? Is 18 arbitrary? Maybe. But it is still the law in Florida. That is the only thing that matters here. The 14 year old's parents have a legal right to pursue charges, and are doing so. It doesn't make them homophobic, it just makes them parents. Unless you want to argue that all of the parents of 14 year old girls who have sex with an adult male are heterophobic, in which case it that might be an interesting argument...

 

[Sinister Shadows]

This wouldn't be a discussion if it was a 18 Male and 14 Female, he would have been convicted without the deal that she was offered, and everyone would praise the court system for protecting our children. This is just another example of "equal rights for everyone (except we should get a bit more than everyone else)"

 

[Whap Me Jungles]

Actually, I reckon this Kaityln was getting it far too easy on this "lenient offer". The law is the law, and the case they're trying to make (which, without the dressing, is essentially that F/F should be treated with greater leniency than M/F) is totally nonsensical.

She rejected the offer because she's likely to be insane.

 

[H33LTurn]

If you were Hunt, would you accept the deal? Why do you think she rejected it?

Of course, theres no question about it. For someone who could be labeled a sex offender and have to deal with the consequences, not just emotionally but legally, that come with being a sex offender it was an extremely lenient deal. In my opinion, she rejected it because shes one of the brave ones. Her bond with this 14 year old seems to be significant enough that its motivated her to fight for her right to love.

If a sexual relationship begins when one is 17 and another is 14, as is possible here, is it splitting hairs to charge the 17 year old when she turns 18?
Society is becoming more accepting of cases like this but for a long time 18 has been considered an adult and 14 a child. Its hard for some people who dont give the situation any thought to imagine why a grown adult would want to be with someone who's still going through puberty, even if its just a four year difference. This isnt like a 30 year old dating a 34 year old, there are major physical and mental changes that occur between the ages of 14 and 18. So at some point, yes, it is natural to see why it would disgust someone and 18 year olds are better off sticking with someone their age or older, lest a parent finds out or they break up and a vindictive ex starts making stuff up.

If you were the parent of the 14 year old, would you turn the 18 year old in, male or female?
That depends. No parent wants an adult hanging around their 14 year old child like that. I think its a parent's natural instincts to guard their children and even if it appeared to be true love, you can never be too trusting of someone.

One final thought. I think the fact that its a same sex couple has zero to do with this. We see older teachers get in trouble and be ridiculed for being in a relationship with a significantly younger student. We've seen guys go to jail for being involved with younger chicks. I mean damn it cost R. Kelly his career for crying out loud. I'm surprised people havent reacted nastier because its a same sex couple. I understand and sympathize with the plight of homosexual individuals thats why I think making the kind of baseless claim the lawyer made is an insult to those who are truly being forced away from someone who they love because they are gay.