Radical hackers Anonymous have rallied behind a lesbian teenager expelled from school and charged by police for an alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
Kaitlyn Hunt, now 18, has been charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years of age.
The parents of the other girl, a fellow player in Hunt's basketball team, are believed to have called police to report the pair's alleged relationship as soon as Hunt turned 18.
Kaitlyn Hunt and her father Steve in Vero Beach, Florida
Hunt, a high-achieving student and cheerleader who was previously voted 'Miss School Spirit', has been expelled from Sebastian River High School, in the town of Sebastian, Florida. Hunt's parents alleged their daughter is being targeted for her sexuality.
Hacktivists from Anonymous have launched Operation Justice4Kaitlyn, announcing their intention to target the school and the Indian River County State Attorney's Office.
"While in the course of performing your duties we feel that you've lost perspective. Tsk, tsk. The truth is, Kaitlyn Hunt is a bright young girl who was involved in a consensual, same-sex relationship while both she and her partner were minors.
"She has a big future ahead of her and there are people, thousands of people in fact, that have no intention of allowing you to ruin it with your rotten selective enforcement.
"Intolerance has been the curse of this country since its inception. Frankly, we're sick of it. Specifically, we're sick of paying the salaries of people like you.
"There are quite a few organizations in this country that would prefer that our elected officials not hire bigots that hunt down and file erroneous charges against young women because of their sexual orientation. The fact is, the puritanism you practice doesn't have a place in this world any longer."
Hunt's parents have started a 'Free Kate' Facebook page which has 39,000 members. They describe their daughter as "an active cheerleader, a basketball player, a camp counselor and cheering coach, and a medical assistant training to join the nursing program at Valencia College after graduation."
Hunt's parents claim their daughter made friends with a 14-year-old girl at her school, and "their friendship eventually developed into more.
"In September, shortly after Kaitlyn's 18th birthday, the girls began dating, and they eventually expressed their affection for one another in intimate ways."
Upon finding out about the relationship the parents "conspired with police to entrap Kaitlyn and press charges.
"Kaitlyn's girlfriend denies that Kaitlyn ever pressured her and is adamant that their relationship is entirely consensual."
Prosecutors have offered a plea deal if she pleads guilty to lesser charges of child abuse, and that would allow her to avoid registering as a sex offender. State Attorney Bruce Colton said he would recommend two years of house arrest followed by a year's probation.
"One of the reasons this case has gotten people's attention is because it's being publicized as a person being persecuted because she's gay, and that has nothing to do with the case, nothing to do with the law, nothing to do with the sheriff's office filing the charges," Colton told the Associated Press.