Genarlow Wilson was among the first teens to make national news for having a consensual sexual encounter with another teenager. Wilson and five other young men were charged in connection with sexual activity occurring at a party when Wilson was 17. The two young women involved were 15 and 17.
While the other defendants worked out plea agreements, Wilson didn’t want to be forced to register as a sex offender based on a consensual encounter. The high school football star chose to take his case to trial, where he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In 2007, after serving two years of his 10-year sentence, Wilson was released from prison. The high profile nature of his case and the Georgia Supreme Court ruling that the 10-year sentence constituted “cruel and unusual punishment” triggered a change in Georgia law.
Today, Wilson is a college graduate working as a Skills Development Advisor at the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency and is raising a daughter with his wife, Tiffany.