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November 16, 2005
Lisa Lynnette Clark: Child Molestation Bride
Dan Sammons sat down with Lisa Lynnette Clark on Tuesday and tried to prepare her for what's to come.
Sammons, the court-appointed attorney for the 37-year-old Hall County woman charged with child molestation of her 15-year-old husband, tried to explain the national attention her story has drawn.
"I don't think anything can prepare her for what awaits once she is released," Sammons said. "I think it's already beyond (Jennifer Wilbanks)."
Wilbanks, dubbed "the runaway bride," stirred a media circus in April when the former Gainesville resident faked her abduction and fled to New Mexico to avoid her wedding.
Clark is nearly six months pregnant with what is believed to be the child of a 15-year-old Gainesville boy.
A senior magistrate judge married the couple Nov. 8 in Dawsonville.
The next day, however, Clark was arrested and charged with child molestation.
Georgia law, in cases where one of the applicants is under the age of 16, requires a certificate from a physician that the female is pregnant or that both applicants are parents of a living child born out of wedlock.
Lee Darragh, district attorney of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, said the Georgia law on child molestation says a person under age 16 legally cannot consent to a sexual act.
It does not take into consideration whether the minor is married.
Georgia law also includes a provision, the marital privilege, that does not require a person to testify against his or her spouse.
Sammons said Clark's 15-year-old husband, if he so chooses, would not have to testify against her because of the law.
Clark remained in custody on a $10,000 bond Tuesday night at the Hall County Detention Center.
Several television trucks, with camera crews ready to film should Clark exit, waited outside the detention center Tuesday night.
Most also were there Monday night, waiting for Clark to post bond.
Calling it "an interesting media frenzy day," Sammons spent most of Tuesday talking with local and national reporters. He said he did not know if or when Clark, who is indigent, would post bond.
Sammons said Clark was visibly shaken Monday, but her demeanor had calmed some Tuesday.
"She's doing better, she's more settled," Sammons said. "You've got to remember this is a lady who has never been in trouble before."
Clark has a committal hearing set for Nov. 30. Sammons said Hall County Sheriff's detectives who investigated the molestation charges likely would testify.
"We'll find out what's admissible and what's not," he said.
Judy Hayles, the grandmother and guardian of the 15-year-old, has protested the marriage vehemently, calling for an annulment or divorce.
Sammons said Clark had no interest in either option.
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20051116/localnews/37992.shtml
Posted by Nealus at November 16, 2005 06:41 AM
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