20/20 airs first interview with jailed gay teen Kaitlyn Hunt
ABC’s Friday edtion of 20/20 included a long segment on Kaitlyn Hunt. It was the first public interview from the 18-year-old high school student who has since pleaded no contest to having a sexual conduct with an underaged, female schoolmate. The case garnered national attention and became increasingly controversial as the explicit details emerged.
Kaitlyn Hunt’s mother, Kelly, said the unnamed girlfriend was a “sweetheart,” but claimed she had not been aware that the girl was only a 14-year-old freshman because, “she looks older than my daughter.” She also stated that, despite Kaitlyn being 18, “in no way, shape of form, is that child an ‘adult.'”
Hunt says of her jailtime and legal issues:
“I really didn’t know. I wouldn’t have continued if I really knew what the laws were…. if I knew what I was getting myself into.”
The girl’s parents were also interviewed. Jim and Laurie Smith, told 20/20 that Hunt “definitely took our daughter’s innocence away, in a way that should not have been done.” Her mother insisted that her daughter was not mature enough for the relationship and that Kaitlyn’s gender was not the issue. They said they had talked to their daughter about her sexuality and accepted “who she is.” Hunt disagreed, saying she thought “that’s a lie.”
When questioned about the 20,000 text messages and sexual images Hunt continued to send, she agreed, with a laugh, that that had been a mistake. However, she insisted that she had not done anything wrong by dating her as a classmate. Hunt claimed she had been seeking “closure” with those communications. The program concludes with some interesting comments about young people and love, and whether Hunt still has feelings for the girl.
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