Lesbian high school student, 18, refuses plea deal for sexual relationship with 14-year-old girl and now faces court



The 18-year-old Florida high school cheerleader who was arrested on felony sexual assault charges for her relationship with a 14-year-old female classmate has refused to take a plea deal, meaning her case will go to court.



Hunt is facing felony charges of lewd and lascivious activity. If she had accepted the plea deal, she would have been forced to register as a sex offender as well as remain on house arrest for two years.



She will appear in court June 20, and could face 15 years in prison if convicted.



Kaitlyn Hunt's parents say that the younger girl's parents demanded that Kaitlyn be arrested because they can't come to terms with the fact that their teenage daughter had a relationship with another girl.



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Civil rights? Kaitlyn Hunt's parents took her case public after they claimed she was targeted because she is gay. While out on bond and barred from seeing the girl, Hunt may have had sex with her as recently as July

Worldwide support: Thousands of people from as far as the Netherlands and New Zealand have protested against the prosecution of Hunt

New revelations: Kaitlyn Hunt is now accused of sending some 20,000 messages to her underage lover, breaching a court order. And documents say her mom Kelly, right, helped her

But, the lawyer for the girl and her family says sexuality has nothing to do with the charges. In the state of Florida it is illegal for anyone over age 18 to have sex with any minor under age 16.

The ongoing legal case is tearing apart the Hunt family, Kaitlin's mother told the Today show on Thursday.



'This is killing us as a family. I would just beg for (the younger girl's parents) to look at this, and look at the reality of it. Listen to their own child. What she says. Just what's the purpose of this?' Kelley Hunt Smith said.

Kaitlyn doesn't deny the allegations that she had sex with a girl 14 years younger than her. However, she and her family have tried to turn the case into a civil rights issue - claiming she was only charged because she is a lesbian.



More than 160,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman to drop the charges. More than 44,000 people have taken up the cause on Facebook.

The state attorney's office has offered Kaitlyn a plea deal that would let her avoid prison time and could allow her to avoid registering as a sex offender - but would still leave her with a felony conviction.



Defending his daughter: Steven Hunt (right) insists that his 18-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn (left), is being targeted by prosecutors for dating a 14-year-old classmate because she is lesbian

Massive push: A 'Free Kate' Facebook page has generated more than 35,000 followers so far, and an online petition urging that the charges be dropped already has nearly 120,000 signatures

Different take: The prosecution insists that Hunt's sexual orientation has nothing to do with the case, and that the family of the 14-year-old victim want the teenager held responsible for her actions



State Attorney Bruce Colton said he would recommend two years of house arrest followed by one year probation if she takes the deal.

If she is found guilty, it's also possible that Hunt could apply to not have to register as a sex offender under a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ law because the girls were no more than four years apart in age.

That's not good enough for Kaitlyn and her family.



'I'm definitely hoping for a better plea deal. But if not, then we'll just have to do everything we can do to win the fight,' she told Today.



She is charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious battery, which is Florida's statutory rape charge. Each count carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison. The minimum sentence is seven and a half years.



'This is a violation of the law. it's based upon an adult having sexual relations with a minor. The gender or sexual orientation of the parties has absolutely nothing to do with the prosecution,' the attorney for the younger girl, Charles Sullivan, told Today.



Banished: Hunt was expelled from Sebastian River High School following her arrest in February

Kaitlyn said the legal battle has been emotionally draining. She was expelled from Sebastian River High School near central Florida's Atlantic coast.

'Every day's different. Some days I'm my happy self. Some days I'm overwhelmed, some days I'm scared,' she said.

Kaitlin's father said her future will be permanently impacted by the charges.



‘It's horrible. For my daughter's sexual preferences, she's getting two felony charges. It could possibly ruin her future,’ Steve Hunt told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday.

Gay rights advocates say older high schoolers dating their younger counterparts is an innocuous, everyday occurrence that is not prosecuted – regardless of sexual orientation – and not a crime on par with predatory sex offenses.

Kaitlyn Hunt (left) aspires to become a nurse, and her parents say she now feels like she has let everyone down

Merchandize: Hunt's supporters have been selling T-shirts and bracelets emblazoned with the words 'Stop the Hate, Free Kate' in an effort to promote her cause

Hunt played on the basketball team with her younger girlfriend and shared the same circle of friends, said Hunt's mother, Kelley Hunt Smith.

The two had a consenting relationship that began soon after Kaitlyn Hunt turned 18, and Hunt Smith said she assumed the younger girl's parents knew that.

But Hunt was kicked off the basketball team near the end of last year after the coach learned of the relationship because players were not allowed to date each other, her parents said.

Then, in February, prosecutors filed charges against her. The day before she was arrested, police and the younger girl's parents secretly recorded a phone conversation in which the two girls discussed kissing in the school bathroom, said Hunt's father, Steve Hunt.