After Girl Expelled From High School...

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Tue May 21, 2013 3:38 am

...and Charged Over Lesbian Relationship, Anonymous Goes on the Offensive.

When Florida high school student Kaitlyn Hunt was 17, she began dating a 15-year-old teammate on her school's girls' basketball team. Kaitlyn's parents say the parents of the 15-year-old never complained to them about the (consensual) relationship. But a few months after Kaitlyn turned 18, the younger girl's parents had her arrested. She was charged with a felony—"lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12-16 years old." The girl's parents also succeeded in getting her expelled from school by appealing to the school board after the school and a judge refused to grant their request, according to Kaitlyn's mother, Kelly Hunt Smith.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/05 ... lationship

About 12 or 13 years ago we dealt with a very similar situation. A friend of one of my daughters who happens to be lesbian was living with us for the last 2 years of school because her family had moved away. She was in a relationship with another girl 2 years younger whose stepfather found out about it and was a religious homophobe. The guy forced his stepdaughter to press charges on this girl. We got her an attorney. The day of the hearing the halls of the court were filled with witnesses, teachers and friends for our side that the other family walked out of the building and dropped the case.

Last year the two girls became a couple again.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Tue May 21, 2013 4:16 am

I saw this on HuffPo yesterday and a lot of the commenters compared it to an 18 year old boy with a 15 year old girl and how we'd all be disgusted by it...

Really? I knew of quite a few senior boys dating sophomore girls and no one thought twice about it back in the old days.

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Tue May 21, 2013 8:06 am

A lot depends on how the law is written. One article pointed out that it was up to the judge whether she would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

Oxbow · Post by **Oxbow** » Fri May 24, 2013 5:37 am

Kaitlyn hasn't hurt anyone, something that doesn't hurt anyone shouldn't be a crime. Age of consent laws are arbitrary, that's why they're different in each state. There is no evidence that consensual sex before a certain age is harmful.

The age of consent is 14 in Austria, Germany, Italy and Portugal. It's 13 in Spain: these countries don't have more traumatized teens than any other country. If anything a lower age of consent allows teens to practice safe sex and have better education.

If age differences are harmful why is it legal for a 40 year old to have sex with an 18 year old? Why is it legal for an 18 year old to be exploited in pornography? Is an 18 year old magically immune from exploitation and harm?

There shouldn't be an age of consent. Sex should only be illegal if it's rape or if there is evidence that it harms someone.