VERO BEACH, Florida (AP) A teen accused of having sex with her underage girlfriend Thursday pleaded no contest essentially conceding the charges without admitting guilt. Her attorney describes the plea deal as in her best interest.
Kaitlyn Hunt was charged in February with having sex with a 14-year-old female schoolmate. Hunt was 18 at the time. A previous plea deal was withdrawn in August following allegations that Hunt exchanged thousands of texts with the girl and sent her nude photos. She was sent to jail.
Civil and gay rights groups say that Hunt is being punished for behavior that occurs at schools across the U.S. without resulting in criminal charges.
A "Free Kate" Facebook page has generated more than 30,000 followers so far, and an online petition urging that the charges be dropped gained more than 100,000 signatures.
Under the terms of Thursday's deal, Hunt will stay in jail until mid-December.