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Bedford County youth facing possible rape charges Charges stem from kissing incident at school
by
Beth Maples-Bays UNIONVILLE - A 16-year-old lesbian Bedford County student faces potential rape charges stemming from a kissing incident at Community High School (CHS) in Unionville. Reports indicate that Jane Doe Minor (not her real name) is currently being held in the Bedford County Juvenile Detention Center pending a hearing before General Sessions Court Judge Charles L. Rich. The proceedings are scheduled to take place on Monday, April 7, in Shelbyville, the Bedford County seat. According to Michelle Bell, Jane's mother, her daughter was harassed and taunted by a classmate in early February at CHS, where both students attend classes. During the incident, provocative and insulting terms referring to Jane's sexual orientation caused a scene at the school in which the offending student exposed himself in a manner commonly known as "mooning." "As a result of that incident, Jane was charged with disorderly conduct and placed on probation," states Bell. A prior incident involved 14-year-old Jill Juvenile (not her real name) during which she allegedly kissed Jane in the hallway at school. "Bedford County School Resource Officer Deputy Tracey Harvey facilitated a no-contact order of protection to keep Jane from having any further dealings with Jill," further relates Bell. "Jill's father has pushed for the separation of the girls for some time. An innocent walk home together from school resulted in the first violation for Jane. One of the requirements for her house arrest/probation was that she ride the school bus home." The kissing incident resulted in a violation of the order of protection which, in turn, caused a second charge of probation violation to be brought against Jane. She was then taken into custody on March 12, 2008, and will be held at the detention facility until the April 7 hearing. "They had a no-contact order of protection when somebody wrote a letter to Jill signing Jane's name. Jane denies writing the letter, and the period during which the letter was written predates the order of protection," says Bell. "Jane is terrified. She has been told repeatedly that she may be charged with statutory rape." Tennessee law is very clear with regard to exactly what constitutes statutory rape. The Tennessee Code Annotated reads as follows: 39-13-506. Statutory rape. — (a) Mitigated statutory rape is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant, or of the defendant by the victim when the victim is at least fifteen (15) but less than eighteen (18) years of age and the defendant is at least four (4) but not more than five (5) years older than the victim. (b) Statutory rape is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or of the defendant by the victim when: (1) The victim is at least thirteen (13) but less than fifteen (15) years of age and the defendant is at least four (4) years but less than ten (10) years older than the victim; or (2) The victim is at least fifteen (15) but less than eighteen (18) years of age and the defendant is more than five (5) but less than ten (10) years older than the victim. (c) Aggravated statutory rape is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant, or of the defendant by the victim when the victim is at least thirteen (13) but less than eighteen (18) years of age and the defendant is at least ten (10) years older than the victim. (d) (1) Mitigated statutory rape is a Class E felony. (2) Statutory rape is a Class E felony. (3) Aggravated statutory rape is a Class D felony.
Further interest in the case comes from the National Center for Lesbian
Rights (NCLR). Staff Attorney Jody Marksamer, specialist in LGBTQ youth.
Marksamer also serves as The learning environment at Community High School has come under scrutiny as a result of the case. Specific requirements regarding maintenance of a safe learning environment have been in place for quite some time following a statewide mandate handed down from the Tennessee General Assembly requiring that all school systems have a formal anti-bullying policy. The Tennessee Code Annotated indicates the following standards for protecting Tennessee students from bullying and harrassment: 49-6-1019, "harassment, intimidation or bullying" means any act that substantially interferes with a student's educational benefits, opportunities or performance, that takes place on school grounds, at any school-sponsored activity, on school-provided transportation, or at any official school bus stop, and that has the effect of: (1) Physically harming a student or damaging a student's property; (2) Knowingly placing a student in reasonable fear of physical harm to the student or damage to the student's property; or (3) Creating a hostile educational environment .Check back with the Equality Herald as we continue to follow this case.
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The
case has drawn interest from renowned attorney Abby R. Rubenfeld, who has
a general law practice in Nashville with an emphasis on family law, sexual
orientation and AIDS-related issues. Rubenfeld currently serves on the
board of directors of the ACLU of Tennessee. She served as the first-ever
Legal Director of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., a
national civil rights organization that conducts test case litigation
across the country on behalf of lesbian and gay rights and AIDS issues.
NCLR's Youth Project Director, and is following the case closely.
