Woman, 21, charged with rape
of husband when he was 13
By Andrea Jones
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
A 21-year-old Rockdale County mother could face up to 20
years in jail for having sex with the 13-year-old father of her
child -- now her husband -- authorities said Tuesday.
Summer Jessica Strickland, of Conyers, was arrested and
charged with felony statutory rape last week after the
Department of Family and Children Services notified the
Rockdale County Sheriff's Department of the July 4 birth of
her child.
Strickland married the now 14-year-old father of the baby in
Newton County Aug. 7.
The case presents a kind of legal paradox. Although the
couple was allowed under Georgia law to marry because
they are parents, it was illegal for them to have sex in the
first place. In Georgia, statutory rape is defined as sex with
any person under age 16 who is not one's spouse.
Authorities are basing Strickland's charges on an Oct. 10
sexual encounter that led to her daughter's birth.
Rockdale County District Attorney Richard Read said he
has spoken to the arresting investigators and is awaiting
paperwork so he can review the case.
Read said marriage does not make any previous sexual
encounters legal.
"Regardless of what their relationship was, the boy is still
13," he said. "We'll try to determine what exactly
happened."
Strickland, who was released on $5,000 bond, said
Tuesday the arrest shocked her family.
"He's my husband," she said. "I just don't understand."
Sal Serio, Strickland's lawyer, called the rape charge
"ridiculous."
"It's simply unconscionable," he said Tuesday. "We've got
a little infant at stake." |
