'I never was educated on dating laws and ages and stuff': Lesbian cheerleader, 19, speaks out from jail about her affair with 14-year-old schoolmate after entering plea deal
Kaitlyn Hunt pleaded no contest last week to battery, interference with child custody and contributing to the dependency of a child
Hunt, 19, said she has no idea that dating a 14-year-old classmate would get her in trouble
She was arrested in February and told to stay away from her younger lover after the girl's parents alerted authorities to the relationship
Hunt allegedly continued to communicate with the girl via 20,000 texts and she was sent to jail after losing her plea deal
Hunt said in interview she still cares for her ex-girlfriend, but doesn't have the love for her she had before
She will be released from jail December 20 and plans to study nursing.
The 19-year-old Florida cheerleader charged with carrying on a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl has claimed that she had no idea that she was breaking the law.
Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, Kaitlyn Hunt sat down with a NewsChannel5 reporter Tuesday for her first jailhouse interview since entering a plea deal late last week.
On Thursday, Hunt pleaded no contest to battery, interference with child custody and contributing to the dependency of a child.
'I never was educated on dating laws and ages and stuff so I still was confused about everything,' the 19-year-old insisted during the interview. 'I didn't know why I was in trouble.'
Miss Hunt was charged in February with having sex with a 14-year-old student at Sebastian River High School. Hunt was 18 at the time and also attended the school.
A previous plea deal was withdrawn in August following allegations that Hunt exchanged thousands of explicit texts with the girl and sent her nude photos - a move she has since come to regret.
‘I trusted her as not only my friend but my girlfriend too. I felt I got set up in multiple ways and I got hurt by her.’ Hunt said.
A judge revoked her bond, sending her to jail. Prosecutors added a charge of transmitting material harmful to a minor.
Addressing her feelings toward her former flame, Hunt said that she still cares for the girl ‘as a person,’ but she no longer has the same love for her she did before.
Hunt also expressed regret that she had never gotten the chance to speak to her ex-girlfriend’s parents about their relationship.
‘I would have respected their wishes and I would have sat down with them and had a conversation with them and it would have been different,’ she said.
The young woman, however, insisted that her 14-year-old paramour’s family do not deserve an apology from her.
Under the terms of Thursday's deal, Hunt will be released just in time for Christmas.
After regaining her freedom December 20, Hunt plans to go back to school to study nursing. She will have to serve three years’ probation, including two years of house arrest.
The 19-year-old also wants to spearhead a campaign with her attorney meant to overhaul state laws that pertain to relationships between high school-age teenagers.
In an earlier interview with Good morning America, Hunt has insisted that the 14-year-old was not a victim, even though her parents claimed the girl was feeling threatened.
'The threatening tone... put her in a place where she felt she had to abide,' the father of the victim, who has not been named, told GMA.
But Hunt defended her messages to the 14-year-old, explaining that it had been a tough time for her.
'It was just hard - how everything came out,' she said.
If she sticks to the conditions of the deal, she will not be a convicted felon per Florida law. She would then have the possibility of sealing her file and having the case expunged after 10 years.
The case has garnered national attention as the teenager's supporters have claimed that the younger girl's parents only contacted police about the relationship because Hunt is gay.
She was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery in February and jailed before posting $5,000. She was banned from contacting the younger girl, whom she had met at high school.
Under Florida law, even if the relationship was consensual, it is illegal for anyone over the age of 18 to have sexual relations with anyone under that age. At the time of their relationship, Hunt was 18.
But court documents in August accused Hunt of 'covertly contacting her victim thousands of times' on an iPod she smuggled to the girl and even of telling her to 'Keep the f**k quiet' about it.
The new evidence indicated Hunt and the girl, until July, were in contact almost daily since Hunt's last day at Sebastian River High School in March.
Hunt also allegedly sent more than 25 lewd photos of herself which show her nude or 'masturbating while moaning'.
They also allege that Hunt's mother, Kelley Hunt Smith, may have helped her daughter cover her tracks by messaging the girl, urging her to delete all trace of their contact.
According to prosecutors, Hunt's girlfriend told detectives about the continued illicit contact and how Hunt would 'drive the child to a remote location where they would have intimate physical contact.'
On or around May 21, the documents allege, Hunt discovered her lover had told her parents about their continued relationship.
'F**k you…you're stupid,' she wrote. 'You want me to go in jail...You're such a messed up person...you snitched on me. God only knows what you'll do when pressed in court. Bye.'
But the pair continued their contact - and Hunt's mother found out.
'Delete EVERYTHING,' Smith wrote in a text message to the girl. 'PLEASE delete everything and make sure NO ONE finds out you've spoken to Kate at all.'
The younger girl's parents have remained adamant that Hunt should be prosecuted as a sex offender.
Kaitlyn Hunt pleaded no contest last week to battery, interference with child custody and contributing to the dependency of a child
Hunt, 19, said she has no idea that dating a 14-year-old classmate would get her in trouble
She was arrested in February and told to stay away from her younger lover after the girl's parents alerted authorities to the relationship
Hunt allegedly continued to communicate with the girl via 20,000 texts and she was sent to jail after losing her plea deal
Hunt said in interview she still cares for her ex-girlfriend, but doesn't have the love for her she had before
She will be released from jail December 20 and plans to study nursing.
The 19-year-old Florida cheerleader charged with carrying on a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl has claimed that she had no idea that she was breaking the law.
Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, Kaitlyn Hunt sat down with a NewsChannel5 reporter Tuesday for her first jailhouse interview since entering a plea deal late last week.
On Thursday, Hunt pleaded no contest to battery, interference with child custody and contributing to the dependency of a child.
'I never was educated on dating laws and ages and stuff so I still was confused about everything,' the 19-year-old insisted during the interview. 'I didn't know why I was in trouble.'
Miss Hunt was charged in February with having sex with a 14-year-old student at Sebastian River High School. Hunt was 18 at the time and also attended the school.
A previous plea deal was withdrawn in August following allegations that Hunt exchanged thousands of explicit texts with the girl and sent her nude photos - a move she has since come to regret.
‘I trusted her as not only my friend but my girlfriend too. I felt I got set up in multiple ways and I got hurt by her.’ Hunt said.
A judge revoked her bond, sending her to jail. Prosecutors added a charge of transmitting material harmful to a minor.
Addressing her feelings toward her former flame, Hunt said that she still cares for the girl ‘as a person,’ but she no longer has the same love for her she did before.
Hunt also expressed regret that she had never gotten the chance to speak to her ex-girlfriend’s parents about their relationship.
‘I would have respected their wishes and I would have sat down with them and had a conversation with them and it would have been different,’ she said.
The young woman, however, insisted that her 14-year-old paramour’s family do not deserve an apology from her.
Under the terms of Thursday's deal, Hunt will be released just in time for Christmas.
After regaining her freedom December 20, Hunt plans to go back to school to study nursing. She will have to serve three years’ probation, including two years of house arrest.
The 19-year-old also wants to spearhead a campaign with her attorney meant to overhaul state laws that pertain to relationships between high school-age teenagers.
In an earlier interview with Good morning America, Hunt has insisted that the 14-year-old was not a victim, even though her parents claimed the girl was feeling threatened.
'The threatening tone... put her in a place where she felt she had to abide,' the father of the victim, who has not been named, told GMA.
But Hunt defended her messages to the 14-year-old, explaining that it had been a tough time for her.
'It was just hard - how everything came out,' she said.
If she sticks to the conditions of the deal, she will not be a convicted felon per Florida law. She would then have the possibility of sealing her file and having the case expunged after 10 years.
The case has garnered national attention as the teenager's supporters have claimed that the younger girl's parents only contacted police about the relationship because Hunt is gay.
She was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery in February and jailed before posting $5,000. She was banned from contacting the younger girl, whom she had met at high school.
Under Florida law, even if the relationship was consensual, it is illegal for anyone over the age of 18 to have sexual relations with anyone under that age. At the time of their relationship, Hunt was 18.
But court documents in August accused Hunt of 'covertly contacting her victim thousands of times' on an iPod she smuggled to the girl and even of telling her to 'Keep the f**k quiet' about it.
The new evidence indicated Hunt and the girl, until July, were in contact almost daily since Hunt's last day at Sebastian River High School in March.
Hunt also allegedly sent more than 25 lewd photos of herself which show her nude or 'masturbating while moaning'.
They also allege that Hunt's mother, Kelley Hunt Smith, may have helped her daughter cover her tracks by messaging the girl, urging her to delete all trace of their contact.
According to prosecutors, Hunt's girlfriend told detectives about the continued illicit contact and how Hunt would 'drive the child to a remote location where they would have intimate physical contact.'
On or around May 21, the documents allege, Hunt discovered her lover had told her parents about their continued relationship.
'F**k you…you're stupid,' she wrote. 'You want me to go in jail...You're such a messed up person...you snitched on me. God only knows what you'll do when pressed in court. Bye.'
But the pair continued their contact - and Hunt's mother found out.
'Delete EVERYTHING,' Smith wrote in a text message to the girl. 'PLEASE delete everything and make sure NO ONE finds out you've spoken to Kate at all.'
The younger girl's parents have remained adamant that Hunt should be prosecuted as a sex offender.
Horrible monster. An ADULT woman seducing a CHILD?
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