Atlanta- The former teacher who gave birth earlier this month to a baby conceived with her 15-year-old husband rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors Friday.
On the steps of the Hall County Courthouse, after a brief arraignment for 37-year-old Lisa Clark, her defense attorney Daniel Sammons told reporters that prosecutors had offered them a deal, but that it had been turned down due to the terms.
While Sammons did not disclose the details of the deal, he did say he would be open to further discussion, adding, "If we don't come to an agreement, that's what juries are for."
At her 9:30 a.m. arraignment, Clark entered not guilty pleas to child molestation, statutory rape and enticing a minor for indecent purposes, 11Alive's Elaine Reyes reported.
Sammons also asked the judge if he could deliver a baby bracelet to the teen father as a memento. "This is the bracelet that the baby wore that belongs to the father," Sammons told reporters. The judge denied the request, saying it violated the conditions of the original magistrate order forbidding contact between Clark and the youth.
Clark remains at Hall County jail, where she was returned just two days after delivering the 7 pound, 9 ounce boy at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Ga. The infant was named Sky Cobain. The child's last name was not revealed to protect the identity of his juvenile father.
Sammons depicted Clark as "anguished, depressed, and lost" after having her newborn taken from her and possibly placed in foster care while she sits in jail. Sammons, Clark's court-appointed attorney, said his client hopes the baby will be turned over to the care of a friend.
The teen's grandmother, Judy Hayles, did not attend the hearing on Friday. In an interview with 11Alive News Thursday night, she described the deal the prosecutor offered to Clark.
"He called me tonight and he said what he had put on the bargaining table, for her to serve 10 months, and I didn't even hear the probation I got so mad then and to go home two months to be with the baby before she starts her sentence," Hayles said.
Hall County authorities first arrested Clark days after her marriage in Dawson County to her teenage boyfriend last November. She was later released on a $10,000 bond on the condition that she not contact the teenager - identified only as "A.S.G." in court papers.
Authorities re-arrested Clark following accusations she helped her groom escape from a juvenile detention center. The boy was found in Ohio and taken into custody.
Sammons also filed a motion to reinstate Clark's bond, but a judge will not decide that issue until her next hearing scheduled for March 15.
Clark was able to marry her teenage boyfriend under a 1962 Georgia that makes an exception to the marrying age in Georgia if the female is pregnant. On Thursday, the Georgia House voted 142-27 to approve a proposal that would bar teens under 16 from marrying without juvenile court permission (read related story).
