Game-Changing Bombshell? There's a Major Twist in the Story About a High School Student's Lesbian Relationship With a Minor

As Kaitlyn Hunt's legal battle looms, her family continues to passionately defend her. All-the-while, the "Free Kate" movement is doubling-down in an effort to support the 18-year-old -- a high school senior who has been expelled and charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years of age.

But now the family of the young girl she was dating is finally speaking up. And their account differs drastically from the one being touted by the Hunt family.

Laurie and Jim Smith (Photo Credit: WPEC-TV)

Laurie and Jim Smith told WPEC-TV that they aren't the type of people who would normally go to the media and, to date, they have been silent regarding the alleged scandal that involves their 15-year-old daughter. The young, unnamed girl was, until earlier this year, dating Hunt.

Their comments are intriguing, as WPEC-TV claims that the Smith family's revelations include a "bombshell that will likely turn this investigation on its head."

And here it apparently is: "Our daughter was 14, and this girl was 18," Jim told the outlet, clarifying previous inconsistencies surrounding the teens' ages at the time of their relationship (previously, Hunt's mother, Kelley, had written in a Facebook post that her daughter was 17 when the relationship began).

According to Laurie, she and her husband told Hunt that the relationship wasn't right and, by their account, the older teen refused to listen. The "Free Kate" mantra, the Smiths maintain, hasn't been an accurate one thus far.

"It's not the way it was. It was quite different," she said. "We had actually told Miss Hunt that this was wrong."

The high schooler was allegedly warned twice.

"Another adult, a mother, came to me and said 'Ms. Smith you need to know this...we told Miss Hunt to leave your daughter alone. But they are in a relationship, and she's 18.' 18? My daughter is only 14."

Photo Credit: Facebook/Free Kate page 

When their daughter began acting out, as many teens do, she ran away. Jim called the shock "the worst thing" that he has ever experienced. Assuming that she wouldn't have willingly fled, the parents initially assumed that someone took her -- but that wasn't the case.

After being told to stay away from their daughter, Kate purportedly picked up the 14-year-old. Because the relationship apparently didn't stop, despite the aforementioned warnings, the Smiths said they had no choice but to turn to the law.

As far as the issue of homosexuality goes, Laurie and Jim seemed perplexed in their WPEC-TV interview. While they have been painted as anti-gay in media and slapped with allegations that they blame Hunt for their daughter's sexuality, the embattled parents said that this isn't how they feel about the issue.

"They made me seem as if I'm a monster," Laurie said of bloggers' attacks, noting that she and her husband have turned to the media to get their story out. "That's why I'm talking to you...The stories that people are saying...I love my daughter and I am willing to do whatever to protect her."

Watch the parents describe their side of the Kaitlyn Hunt story here. Earlier today, the 18-year-old refused a plea deal, which would have given her two years house arrest, one additional year of probation and a charge of child abuse. Hunt will have a June 20 court hearing; she could face up to 15 years behind bars (read more about the story).

--

[related]