After a woman was arrested for repeatedly sexually abusing a teen boy, she decided to blame her victim, claiming that it only happened because of one thing he did.
A Tennessee woman has been convicted of repeatedly raping a 14-year-old boy and faces a $2-million lawsuit from the victim’s family after engaging an illicit relationship with the teen. Kelsey McCarter, 29, was found guilty by a Knoxville court of 6 counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and a single count of exploitation of a minor by electronic means.
However, instead of expressing shame and remorse for her inexcusable actions, the wife of a former high school assistant football coach insists that she’s not a rapist. In fact, she seems to believe that she’s the victim by maintaining that the sexual abuse only occurred countless times because of something the underage boy did.
Kelsey McCarter has claimed that she should not be labeled a rapist because her child victim made it known that he wanted to have sex. After pleading guilty to raping the South-Doyle High School student, having met him via her husband Justin’s coaching him in football, Kelsey unapologetically insists that their relationship was entirely consensual, despite the fact that minors cannot legally consent.
Kelsey was sentenced to 3 years in prison, 30 percent of which must be served before she can be released, the New York Post reports. Additionally, the McCarters and the school system are being sued by the victim and his family for $2 million as well as punitive damages for failing to notify the authorities.
The victim’s attorney claims that the Kelsey and Justin owe his client compensation for knowingly subjecting him to abuse. However, Kelsey’s attorney rejects this premise, insisting that the victim confessed to willingly participating in the affair.
“By [the boy’s] own admission in the complaint, he continued to ‘submit’ to the sexual contacts with Ms. McCarter because he wanted to return to live with the McCarters,” Doug Trant wrote. “By his own admission in the complaint [the boy] desired and maintained a sexual relationship with Ms. McCarter in order to derive a personal benefit — initially to extend his stay at the McCarters’ residence and then to ensure his return therein.”
Trant explained that Kelsey was simply trying to help the teen by inviting him and his older brother to move into their home when the relationship turned sexual. Kelsey also claims that she was “reasonable” in her belief that the boy wanted sex, adding that her selflessness in opening up her home to the teens should have gone “unpunished.”
Kelsey was eventually outed by her teen victim when he shared a nude photo of her on social media, which was passed on to school officials. The revelation came after rumors circulated that a football player was blackmailing the assistant coach’s wife with “compromising photographs,” the Knoxville News Sentinel reports.
Kelsey’s trial and subsequent claim of innocence have sparked heated debate on the issue. Some believe that she should not be punished because the boy was old enough to know better, while others argue that she was in a position of authority and used it to take advantage of the teen.
