One of the most shocking and sad stories of the week, in which a 15-year-old student was filmed having sex with as many as 25 fellow students at Florida's South Fort Myers High School, has now resulted in criminal arrests and the revelation of a truly sad detail about the girl in question.
16-year-old William Scott has been charged with three criminal counts due to allegations that he recorded a video of the incident. According to ABC-7, Scott is one of the best running backs in South Florida, and his family hoped that his talents may be able to lift them out of poverty. His collegiate and professional careers are now very much in doubt as he faces serious criminal charges.
In an even more tragic development to this story, it is now also known that the female victim, who confirmed with police that she had sex with several "willing" male students, is a victim of sex slavery and sex trafficking. She was kidnapped from her home at the age of 13, and held captive by a human trafficker for two years.
Megan Estrem, CEO of Be the Light told NBC-2 the girl has been placed in multiple treatment programs to deal with the trauma, and had only been at South Fort Myers High for two weeks before the incident occurred.
According to Estrem, the girl had followed a boy she had a crush on to the bathroom to talk to him, and when he asked to have sex she complied. It was only then that other boys came in to take advantage. "She was not equipped to make a stable, rational decision in that situation," Estrem explained. "She has been in an environment where she has been told to behave in a certain way, and there were severe consequences if she didn't."
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.
Police were not going to pursue charges either until the video of the incident was sent to news outlets and posted online. Parents and members of the community voiced their concern of Scott not facing the full extent of the law because of his success on the sports field, as one parent said, "I know there's a lot of problems with professional athletes and this is where it starts, right here. This is the kind of stuff that if someone does nothing about it, it keeps on going."
It seems that the concern will be addressed, as Sheriff Mike Scott said, "While it is regrettable that this incident occurred in the first place, we are always committed to holding everyone responsible for their actions."
Scott is being charged for child cruelty, allowing a child to engage in sex, and possession of obscene material. He is currently being held in a juvenile intake facility.
BET.COM
Post a Comment