Lesbian high school cheerleader offered plea deal on her 19th birthday to avoid jail for having sex with classmate, 14, after thousands sign petition to support her

Kaitlyn Hunt, from Florida, has not yet indicated if she will accept the no contest deal for lesser charges - as she will have to admit wrongdoing

Deal means the teen will avoid jail and not be put on the sex offenders' register



A high school cheerleader arrested on felony sexual assault charges for her relationship with a 14-year-old female classmate has been offered a plea deal on her 19th birthday.



Kaitlyn Hunt is being urged to accept the new deal which would keep her out of jail and prevent her from being registered as a sex offender - if she pleads no contest to two misdemeanor battery counts and one felony count for interference of child custody.

Her case attracted a glut of publicity after her parents did multiple interviews, claiming that their daughter was only charged because she is gay. As of May, 300,000 people have signed an online petition to have the charges against the teenager dropped.



Hunt, from Florida, is facing felony charges of lewd and lascivious activity. If she goes to trial, she faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

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Criminal? Hunt could be hauled away from an emergency hearing scheduled for August 20 in cuffs if a judge finds she violated her court orders to stay away from her 14-year-old girlfriend

Violations: Hunt allegedly smuggled an iPod to her girlfriend and the two traded messages, including naked photos and masturbation videos from Hunt

As of Wednesday, Hunt had not make it known if she would accept the deal.



Under a previous plea deal in May, Kaitlyn would have been forced to register as a sex offender as well as remain on house arrest for two years.



The latest plea deal was offered by the Florida state attorney's office in July, reported CNN , because it balances the needs of Hunt, the unidentified teenage girl and their parents.



Under the deal, Hunt would be placed on probation for three years and have a curfew of 11pm for the first year.

She must also agree never to contact the 14-year-old girl again. Her criminal record would later be expunged or sealed.

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

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

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.

Worldwide support: Thousands of people have protested against the prosecution of Hunt as a sex offender. But will they support her if she broke the terms of her bond with the aid of her mother?

Hunt's family claim that the relationship between the two girls was consensual. However under Florida law, a person under the age of 16 is not considered to be able to legally consent to sex.



The victims' parents say that they are only protecting their daughter and it has nothing to do with her being gay.

The Hunt family have tried to turn the case into a civil rights issue - claiming Kaitlyn 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.

Kaitlyn has 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.

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.

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

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

The two had a consenting relationship that began soon after Kaitlyn Hunt turned 18, and Mrs 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.