Travis Pennington: send a birthday card

[Hoosier]

Young racer Travis Pennington's 20th birthday is Aug. 19.

His address is:

Travis Pennington
# 1000239195
Wheeler Correctional Facility
PO Box 466
Alamo, GA 30411

For updated information about his case:

http://www.georgiastockcarracing.com/

[Ford motorsports]

Why is he in jail?

[bite me too]

here we go again.

he's in jail because the 12 y/o girl he had "sex" with when he was 16, has "parents who are gold diggers" and "screwed him over".

this has been covered many, many times.

and, it always comes down to he didn't do anything wrong to the 12 YEAR OLD girl!

[RacedudeGa]

here are the problems i see with his case:

her parents tried to get money from Travis's parents for what he did without going to the police. From what i understand they settled with the Pennington's insurance company.

when the police/DA learned of it they waited until he was 17 so he could be questioned without his parents being present and charged as an adult for something he did when he was juvenile.

the girl admitted to having a "crush" on Travis and that she "pursued" him.

her mother let her spend the weekends with the Penningtons because she was friends with Travis younger brother while she went out of town.. I'm sorry i may be old fashioned but even if my daughter is "just friends" with a boy she isnt going to be spending the nite with him. also the girl admitted she shared a bed with Travis's younger brother who was the same age as her.

this is just some of the reasons people have a problem with Travis being in jail.

i'm not saying Travis shouldnt have been punished, but the punishment should have been been in juvenile court since it happened when he was 16.


Happy B'Day Travis

[bite me too]

here's the BIGGEST problem. SHE WAS 12!

y'all find problems when the case was filed (was he 16 or 17). or the inuation that the parents tried to "blackmail" the Penningtons.
The fact that you all find fault with her or her family is just as disconcerning. someone has to pay for the "molestation of a minor" and unfortunately for the Travis fans the State of Georgia says it's him! get over it!

once again...SHE WAS 12! are you all that backa$$ that makes this alright?! really?!

if Travis was my son I would beat his a$$ so bad that the State wouldn't have to worry about it. Perhaps, parenting is/was the problem here.

[shoebox]

here are the problems i see with his case:

her parents tried to get money from Travis's parents for what he did without going to the police. From what i understand they settled with the Pennington's insurance company.

when the police/DA learned of it they waited until he was 17 so he could be questioned without his parents being present and charged as an adult for something he did when he was juvenile.

the girl admitted to having a "crush" on Travis and that she "pursued" him.

her mother let her spend the weekends with the Penningtons because she was friends with Travis younger brother while she went out of town.. I'm sorry i may be old fashioned but even if my daughter is "just friends" with a boy she isnt going to be spending the nite with him. also the girl admitted she shared a bed with Travis's younger brother who was the same age as her.

this is just some of the reasons people have a problem with Travis being in jail.

i'm not saying Travis shouldnt have been punished, but the punishment should have been been in juvenile court since it happened when he was 16.


Happy B'Day Travis

wow. if this is true it makes one wonder where the he!! the justice is in this fricked up world. i hope the girls parents, the local barney fifes, and the glory chasin' prosecuters get their due someday soon.

[drano]

For every one that wants to send him a card instead of mailing it to him why dont you suitecase it and take it your selves.

[bwels25]

here's the BIGGEST problem. SHE WAS 12!

y'all find problems when the case was filed (was he 16 or 17). or the inuation that the parents tried to "blackmail" the Penningtons.
The fact that you all find fault with her or her family is just as disconcerning. someone has to pay for the "molestation of a minor" and unfortunately for the Travis fans the State of Georgia says it's him! get over it!

once again...SHE WAS 12! are you all that backa$$ that makes this alright?! really?!

if Travis was my son I would beat his a$$ so bad that the State wouldn't have to worry about it. Perhaps, parenting is/was the problem here.

I agree Parenting on both sides is the problem. jmo

[Ford motorsports]

Yeah i agree I don't care if he was 16 she was only 12. He shouldn't have even thought about that.

[RacedudeGa]

the problem is that he was only 16 yet they waited until they could charge him as an adult before they did anything. i dont think anyone has made the statement that he shouldnt have been punished for what he did its just that he should have been punished as a juvenile instead of an adult since this happened when he was still a juvenile.

if i remember correctly they can keep you locked up after you turn 18 for crimes you commit while still a juvenile. had they done this then i dont see where people would have as big a problem with it. instead they waited until they didnt have contact his parents or any other adult to talk to him so they could charge him as an adult.

how many of you people who are crying that "she was only 12" have been around any 12, 13 or 14 year old girls lately? try going to any mall on the weekends and see how they act or dress. i would lock my daughter in her room and not let her come out until she was 25 if she acted like some of the ones i have seen. the 12 year olds today act like the 17 & 18 year olds did when i was growing up.

and before anyone cries that i dont know what i'm talking about i raised a daughter and have teenage granddaughters and i will say again they would NEVER spend the nite at a boys house no matter how good of friends they are.

i'm sure there is a lot that hasnt been made public about this case but from everything i have read makes me believe that they should have charged Travis as a juvenile and that the girl should have been removed from her mothers care because she was not doing her job as a parent by letting her daughter spend the nites & weekends with Travis's family. Had she been friends with Travis's sister ( i dont think he has one) i wouldnt think that way, but in my book her knowingly letting her daughter stay overnite with teenage boys was just asking for trouble.

[Hoosier]

the problem is that he was only 16 yet they waited until they could charge him as an adult before they did anything.

To keep this factual: the girl went to the Sheriff with her story, and the very next day they interviewed Pennington at school, charged him, and took him to jail. They were not waiting until he was 17.

if i remember correctly they can keep you locked up after you turn 18 for crimes you commit while still a juvenile.

In GA at that time, any sexual contact with a 12-year-old was a felony Aggravated Sexual Assault with a 25-year min. sentence. Pennington's lawyer negotiated the charge down to Statutory Rape, with a 10-year max. sentence and the ability to appeal.

The question the family has not answered is why the appeal was withdrawn.

[RacedudeGa]

i got those facts from a article you wrote Hooiser:

http://www.georgiastockcarracing.com...70160505.shtml

An investigator for the Sheriff’s Office interviewed, videotaped, and arrested Pennington, after picking him up at his high school and questioning him with no parents present. The investigator waited until after Travis had turned 17, so parental notification wasn’t required. Travis admitted there was oral sex.
The girl’s video says she “came on” to him but there was no actual intercourse.

[Hoosier]

i got those facts from a article you wrote Hooiser:

http://www.georgiastockcarracing.com...70160505.shtml

An investigator for the Sheriff’s Office interviewed, videotaped, and arrested Pennington, after picking him up at his high school and questioning him with no parents present. The investigator waited until after Travis had turned 17, so parental notification wasn’t required. Travis admitted there was oral sex.
The girl’s video says she “came on” to him but there was no actual intercourse.

Unfortunately, the first article I wrote relied too much on the family for info, and much of it was false or incomplete. As more info became available, and all of the prosecutor's files were released, and I had a 90-min. interview with the asst. DA, a more accurate article was published: http://www.georgiastockcarracing.com/

This article was published on 4m, generated a lot of negative comments, and was removed at the family's request.

[ozzie 35]

Both sets of parents are dealing with a bad situation.This thread was started to let people know where to send a Birthday card if they want to, not to retry the case. He's been charged ,he's serving his time, what more can he do, show some compassion. Let it rest.

[shoebox]

clear this up someone so i can properly judge georgia's laws and their enforcement , was he a juvi or not at the time of said incident?

[bite me too]

clear this up someone so i can properly judge georgia's laws and their enforcement , was he a juvi or not at the time of said incident?

The Statutory Rape laws here are very strict. Pennington isn't the first young person to be sent away for actions like this. In Rome a few a years ago a 17 y/o football player was sent to prison for consentual sex with a 15 y/o.

"A person commits the offense of child molestation when he or she does any immoral indecent act to or in the presence of or with any child under the age of 16 years with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the person…. "

http://www.gnesa.org/news/GA_laws.asp#statutory

[B_K]

The Statutory Rape laws here are very strict. Pennington isn't the first young person to be sent away for actions like this. In Rome a few a years ago a 17 y/o football player was sent to prison for consentual sex with a 15 y/o.

"A person commits the offense of child molestation when he or she does any immoral indecent act to or in the presence of or with any child under the age of 16 years with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the person…. "

http://www.gnesa.org/news/GA_laws.asp#statutory

On video while high as a kite.

[TerryM]

how many of you people who are crying that "she was only 12" have been around any 12, 13 or 14 year old girls lately? try going to any mall on the weekends and see how they act or dress. i would lock my daughter in her room and not let her come out until she was 25 if she acted like some of the ones i have seen. the 12 year olds today act like the 17 & 18 year olds did when i was growing up.

i'm sure there is a lot that hasnt been made public about this case but from everything i have read makes me believe that they should have charged Travis as a juvenile and that the girl should have been removed from her mothers care because she was not doing her job as a parent by letting her daughter spend the nites & weekends with Travis's family. Had she been friends with Travis's sister ( i dont think he has one) i wouldnt think that way, but in my book her knowingly letting her daughter stay overnite with teenage boys was just asking for trouble.

I am the father of a 12-year old daughter. I see the young girls you describe everywhere I go, but my daughter is not one of them and her circle o friends aren't that way either. Don't assume most 12-year old girls behave and look like the ones you're referring to, because they don't.

I do agree this kid should have been charged as a juvenile, since the crime occurred when he was a juvenile. Not sure why the state of GA didn't see it that way, but whatever. The fact is, as Troy has stated repeatedly, this girl was 12 years old at the time, and that can't be ignored. This girl's mother definitely should have paid a price - losing custody, charged with neglect, or something. Just terrible, terrible parenting, and a lot of very poor judgement, all the way around in this situation.

[RacedudeGa]

Hoosier - Thanks for clearing some of that up. But i still think he should have been charged as a juvenile because it happened when he was 16. Its funny how they can say a kid is an adult at 17 now and can be held accountable as an adult but they dont get the full rights as an adult. A 17 year old's parents can go to jail if they miss too many school days without officially withdrawing from school. Of course i'm one of the people who think the drinking age should be 18 also since that is the "legal" age in most states. You can die for your country but cant buy a drink. They should have at least been required to have a court hearing to see if he should have been charged as an adult or junvenile.

TerrM - I didnt mean that all 12 year olds act like the ones i was talking about, just that the idea that all 12 year olds are sweet lil girls just isnt true anymore. My daughter didnt act that way and neither do my granddaughters.

[MADCAPRACING22]

I will always stand behind that kid on here or at the race track! Am I biased? (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) right I am! I grew up with the Masseys at the race track and I will back Travis up any day! He is a good kid that did something stupid with a girl with a greedy ass mom! Enough said end of story and he does not deserve to rot in jail for ten years! I will stand by him until the end of time and if anybody on here doesn't like it you can stuff it up your ass! Happy Birthday Travis! You will race again!