A 19-year old Alabama girl who listed her baby’s father as a
14-year-old boy has been charged with his rape. Expectant mother
Mekenzie Leigh Guffey was arrested and charged after she signed up for
state assistance for the child she’s set to give birth to.
Mekenzie, who is now about six weeks pregnant, is charged with a host
of offenses, including second-degree rape, enticing a child for immoral
purposes, and possession and dissemination of child pornography (the
homemade porno).
She was released from Jackson County jail after posting
a $23,500 bail. Under Alabama state law, she may face between two and
20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $30,000, if convicted.
Police told the press (via Times Free Press) that they are also investigating the boy’s parents for their involvement in his lover’s crimes.
Police chief Jason Hepler said that he caught wind of the illicit
relationship after the Alabama Department of Human Resources notified
the police of a young woman who had filled out forms listing a
14-year-old boy as her baby’s father when she sought assistance from the
state’s Medicaid program. Police caught up to her and she was jailed
within days of the notice.
The girl’s grandmother, Peggy Thompson, told the press (via Toronto Sun)
that Mekenzie had lived through a difficult childhood, moving from
“flea bag motels” to at least one mobile home with parents who abused
drugs and who abandoned her to raise her younger brother on her own.
Things were looking up when the kids finally went to live with their
grandparents.
Thompson said that Mekenzie got a job at a rug plant after graduating
high school, but fell apart after her grandfather died. Unable to work
due to an injury, Mekenzie sought companionship and fell in love with a
“boy who looked a lot older than 14.”
The police chief said it was no excuse for what she did, and that she showed no remorse for her actions.
“Apparently she did a lot of bragging,” he said. “She was bragging to
everybody that she was pregnant by this boy. She thought it was the
greatest thing, and then she found out we were involved and it was like
‘Oh, no.'”
She had
previously posted a picture of a positive pregnancy test and wrote “soon
to be mommy” as her status, professing multiple times to how happy she
was at the news of her pregnancy. Her page has since been set to
private.
Mekenzie Guffey has a court appearance set for April 19.
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