Kaitlyn Hunt, the Florida teen arrested
and expelled from high school over a lesbian relationship, is asking
prosecutors to lessen the charges against her.
Hunt began dating a female student 3
younger than herself at the start of the year when she was 17.
In February, after Hunt turned 18, her
girlfriend's parents went to the authorities, who arrested the teen
and charged her with the felony of “sexual battery on a person
12-16 years old.” After officials at Sebastian River High School
refused to expel Hunt, the parents appealed to the school board and
had her expelled.
The Indian River County State
Attorney's Office has given Hunt until Friday to accept a plea deal
that would allow her to avoid registering as a sex offender if she
pleads guilty to a charge of child abuse.
At a press conference held on
Wednesday, the family said they were pushing to have the charges
dropped to a misdemeanor.
“Kaitlyn is being prosecuted for
engaging in behavior that is both fairly innocuous and extremely
common,” Hunt's attorney Julia Graves said.
An emotional Hunt said she was
surprised by the onslaught of media attention her story had
attracted.
“I didn't think it would be this big
at first, but I'm glad it is. I'd rather people see how it is across
the world than just here at Sebastian,” Hunt said. (The video is
embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Also on Wednesday, prosecutors released
redacted recordings of Hunt speaking to her girlfriend.
“What I'm saying is that I've never
been in love with anyone but you like this ever,” Hunt is heard
saying. “I've never felt this way for anybody. I've never put
myself in any of these positions for anybody. I don't know, I just,
I'm in love with you and it's different. I just don't understand it
any more than that.”