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| US teen sex sentence overturned |
| A man jailed for having consensual oral sex with a teenage girl in the US has had his 10-year prison sentence overturned by a court in Georgia.
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 12-June-2007
1:49:8 AM |
| Genarlow Wilson, 21, was jailed in 2005 for aggravated child molestation after he was videotaped engaging in the act with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.
Several influential people, including former President Jimmy Carter, have publicly supported Mr Wilson's appeal.
But the court's decision does not grant Mr Wilson's immediate release.
The ruling amended Mr Wilson's sentence to a misdemeanour and said he would not be required to register as a sex offender.
But he will remain in jail, pending an appeal against the latest ruling.
'Miscarriage of justice'
Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson said: "If any case fits into the definitive limits of a miscarriage of justice, surely this case does."
"The fact that Genarlow Wilson has spent two years in prison for what is now classified as a misdemeanour, and without assistance from this court will spend eight more years in prison, is a grave miscarriage of justice," he said.
However Attorney General Thurbert Baker said he had filed an appeal to the ruling, stating that Georgia law does not give a judge authority to reduce or modify the sentence imposed by a trial court.
Mr Wilson's lawyer, BJ Bernstein said: "It is extremely, extremely disturbing that the attorney general would take this action now."
"In essence, the attorney general is saying, 'Keep Genarlow Wilson in prison for 10 years and keep him on the sex offender registry'."
She is planning to apply for a bond to release Mr Wilson while the appeal is pending.
But a public affairs officer for the state department of corrections said Mr Wilson could not be released until they receive guidance from the state attorney general's office or from the court that originally sentenced him.
Mr Wilson, reported to be a sports star and honour student, was found guilty by a jury of aggravated child molestation, for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a New Year's Eve party in 2003.
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