A community firestorm erupted after hearing about a 15-year-old girl having sex with boys in the bathroom at a Florida high school.
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The girl and her parents were not willing to press charges against the boys involved, and while the Florida age of consent is 18, there are provisions that 16 and 17-year-olds can give consent to having sex with someone between the ages of 16 and 23.
The girl, who media outlets have said is 15 years old, later told her principal she had sex with several of them. During those 21 days, the suspect isn’t allowed to speak with the victim, can not return to South Fort Myers High, and is not allowed to be in contact with any minors under the age of 15.
The 16-year-old was charged with cruelty toward a child, allowing a child to engage in a sexual act and possession of obscene material, Lee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Schall said in a news release.
Students said the entire thing was filmed and then posted on social media.
“While it is regrettable that this incident occurred in the first place, we are always committed to holding everyone responsible for their actions”, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott said in a statement following Scott’s arrest. He won’t be allowed at the school and can’t have contact with the girl or anyone else implicated in the case during that three-week period. The mother rescued her daughter with help from Megan Estrem, the founder of Be the Light, an advocacy group for victims of sex slavery. “A bunch of football players went into a room with a girl and had sex with her, and a bunch of the football players were suspended”, said student Alex Bailey.
The girl, who was kidnapped at 13 and trafficked for two years but has not been able to get treatment for the trauma, was not capable of making a rational decision, an expert said.
According to the girl’s mother, who did not wish to appear on camera, the incident occurred after hours when the girl went to the boy’s bathroom to talk to a boy she had a crush on.
The Florida Department of Children and Families is also involved in the case, spokeswoman Natalie Harrell confirmed.
“I heard it, and thought there’re some red flags”, Ms Estrem told NBC.
“It’s easy to critique a scenario when you don’t know all of the facts”, she said.
Discipline: The school disciplined 16 boys after the incident.
Adding: ‘I’m thinking it can happen in any school.
Earlier this week, Lee County schools Superintendent Greg Adkins wrote a letter to parents addressing the incident and asking everyone to respect the students’ privacy. “All the students involved are precious and valued”.
South Fort Myers High has about 2,000 students.
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“I trust them to take care of it”, one woman said.
