JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Felony charges of lewd and lascivious battery against three Terry Parker High School students have been dropped, according to the State Attorney's Office.
The students had been accused of luring a female student into the field house and sexually assaulting her in April, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office report.
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The girl, who was identified as between age 12 and 16, said one of the suspects approached her after lunch and invited her to the field house. A second, then a third suspect joined them on the way. Once inside, she said one of the boys began to touch her and said "get ready," then all three of them forced her to perform sex acts, according to the initial arrest report.
The girl, who was dating one of the boys, later recanted that account and told police that the encounter was consensual.
File: Disposition Statement in Terry Parker case
Police initially arrested Nicholas Evans, 18, Nicholas Oliver, 17, and Lavell Benjamin, 19, and charged them with lewd and lascivious battery. Evans was also charged with producing computer porn, because he filmed part of the encounter.
All those charges were dropped after the girl admitted the encounter was consensual. The teens instead pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and were placed on probation that includes no contact with the girl involved.
According to the disposition statement from the State Attorney's Office, the girl told a teacher about the encounter because she wanted to get a late pass for class. She told authorities she initially said it was not consensual because “she was afraid.”
Prosecutors indicated that the video Evans made of the encounter “shows the consensual nature of the sexual activity.”
During the investigation into the incident, the girl's mother expressed concern to the assistant state attorney on the case that the three teens might be charged with felonies and labeled as sex offenders over the encounter, which her daughter admitted was consensual.
“Historically our office has not made felons and sex offenders out of teenagers who engage in consensual sexual activity although technically illegal, especially when all parties are cooperative and in agreement with the proposed disposition,” the State Attorney's Office wrote.
In addition to their probation, the teens will complete 100 hours of community service, will have no unsupervised contact with minors and will have STD/HIV tests conducted, with the results released to the girl's mother.
Prosecutors said one of the teens plans to enter the military, another has been accepted to two colleges and the third plans to graduate from high school. All three are good students and athletes, and “a felony conviction and sex offender designation would make most of their goals impossible,” prosecutors wrote.
“While there is clear evidence of lewd battery charges, there are multiple reasons to allow the three defendants to enter pleas to a misdemeanor charge, not the least of which is the request of the (girl's) mother,” prosecutors wrote.
Evans' mom: 'It's not an easy task knowing that your child is innocent'
The mother of Evans, Maria Tomlin, told News4Jax that she agrees with punishing the boys for having sex on school property. But she said she will never forget how the lie ruined her family.
Tomlin said her son spent eight days in jail on a bond of $285,000 and missed graduation night.
"I can't even put into words what this has done to my son, myself and my other children, my family. It's not an easy task knowing that your child is innocent," Tomlin said.
The three teens were placed on probation that includes no contact with the girl involved. But Tomlin said the order isn't being reciprocated.
"She's still at it. She still contacts my son on a daily basis. She still tries to get with my son and it's degrading," Tomlin said.
Tomlin said her son's life is not ruined. She said he graduated with a 4.0 GPA and is set to attend a four-year college on a football scholarship, which was taken into consideration by the State Attorney's Office.
"This has not held my son down. We have pushed forward. He has graduated, even though she took from him walking across that stage. She robbed my family of seeing him walk across that stage with a 4.0 grade point average. She robbed that from him, but she did not take his life from him," Tomlin said.
Evans will leave for college in July.