Star Athlete Jailed After Being Caught With Underage Girl

LAKELAND, Fla. -- He was one of the best baseball players ever to come out of Central Florida and he was expected to go to Florida State University and then the major league. But now, star Lakeland High School player Eric Arce has been arrested.


Arce and his friend were caught by police kissing their girlfriends and WFTV learned they face felony charges because they had just turned 18 and their girlfriends were underage.

Recruiters expect Lakeland High's catcher Eric Arce to make it to the pros, but his trek to the top just took a big hit.

Arce and his teammate, Kyle Simmons, were arrested for lewd and lascivious battery against their underage girlfriends. The young men turned 18 late last year.

According to an arrest report, Deputy David Clement saw a pickup truck on the side of the road, flashed his light inside and noticed the teens. Simmons was in the front seat with a 15-year-old girl and Arce was in the backseat with a 14-year-old.

Records show the girls' parents knew they were dating Arce and Simmons and their actions were consensual, but Florida law doesn't allow sexual contact between adults and minors.

At Lakeland High School, their classmates had mixed opinions about the incident.

"They need to understand they're 18 now and have to date someone their own age," student Nikolas Allen said.

Junior Rachel Cumberlidge kissed to protest the arrests.

“There's nothing wrong or sexual about kissing,” Cumberlidge said.

But deputies said the teens were way past third base when caught. The girls were partially naked putting their clothes back on.

WFTV tried contacting the ballplayers, but to no avail. Both may have to register as sex offenders now.

Parents WFTV spoke with were split on the topic, too.

“If you're 18 and you're still doing it, you deserve what you get,” parent Larry Clayton said. “If the parents knew they were dating 18-year-olds, they should know things would go on."

Arce and Simmons have been suspended from playing baseball for the time-being. Ultimately, it's up to the State Attorney's Office to prosecute or not.

If prosecuted, they could each spend at least seven and a half years behind bars.
http://www.wftv.com/news/23105399/de...=cmg_cntnt_rss

Ugh. I hate these kinds of issues. If they had been 17 and 363 days, there would be nothing illegal about it.

It's not that I don't understand what kinds of activities they're trying to prevent. It's just that, if the parents give consent, the kids are already dating, and one of them turns 18, the idea that they have to suddenly cease anything resembling a relationship is just bizarre.

Of course, I don't know that 14 and 15-year-old girls need to be getting too physical with a guy (no matter what the age), but it's just the obnoxious technicalities of it that annoy me.

This isn't right. Yes they are young but should simply be given warnings and that is it. SInce parents were also knowlegable about it and said OK and all they did was kiss, this needs to be dropped

This is the stupiest thing that I've heard of in quite awhile.

Great..... ruin the boys' lives and ruin their chances for college.

What a messed up place Florida is....hopefully the DA will drop the charges on these two young men.