VERO BEACH, Fla. — Prosecutors have offered a plea deal to a Florida teen accused of having sex with her underage girlfriend.
The deal would spare 19-year-old Kaitlyn Hunt jail time and registration as a sex offender but adds a felony count to her charges.
Prosecutors want Hunt to plead no contest to two counts of battery and one felony count of interference with child custody. Hunt would be subject to a curfew, have to perform 150 hours of community service and serve probation.
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Hunt has argued the sex was consensual, but Florida law considers it a felony offense to have sex with a person under the age of 16.
Hunt has been charged with two felony counts of “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 – 16 years of age” stemming from the relationship, which turned sexual prior to Christmas 2012, according to the arrest record.
Last month, Hunt rejected a plea deal consisting of two years house arrest, one year probation, and sex offender counseling.
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Hunt’s story received international media attention and prompted gay rights advocates to say she is being unfairly targeted for what would be considered a common romance if she was not gay.
They have argued that 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.
