Kaitlyn Hunt, the 19-year-old Florida woman charged with having sex with her 14-year-old girlfriend when she was 18, will be released from jail on Dec. 20, according to the terms of a new plea deal that her attorney announced she had accepted on Wednesday.
Under the deal, Hunt will not have to register as a sex offender and will not be labeled a felon, a sticking point with Hunt's family and attorney over the course of the case.
Although she will be released from jail, the terms of the deal mean that Hunt will be on probation for three years, the first two of which she will be required to wear an ankle monitor to ensure she does not come into contact with her younger ex-girlfriend. Authorities also will be allowed to monitor her electronic communications, according to CBS 12 News.
"Kaitlyn Hunt is accepting the plea deal in her best interest as well as that of her family, the 'victim' and the 'victim's' family," her attorney A. Julia Graves said in a statement. "It is time to enter a plea given the current state of the law and get back to living a somewhat normal life without fear of the unknown for everyone involved."
Initially, she faced two felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery and could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison when she turned herself in to police in August.
Hunt's story made headlines when her family said she only faced the charges because she is gay. Hunt and her attorneys have maintained the sexual relations were consensual, but under Florida law that argument would not succeed regardless of who was charged because the law states that no one under 16 can consent to sex.
A Florida judge is set to finalize the plea deal Thursday.