Teen arrested for botched science experiment talks about ordeal

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FLORIDA – A Florida teen who faced criminal charges after she carried out a botched science experiment on school grounds held a press conference Wednesday where she talked about her ordeal.

Kiera Wilmot, 16, was a high-flying student at Bartow High School until last month when she was expelled and arrested following an experiment she conducted without supervision.

“I made the mistake of performing my experiment outside of the classroom, however that is the only mistake I feel that I have made,” Wilmot said during the conference, with her twin sister Kayla standing next to her, holding her hand.

Speaking out for the first time

Speaking for the first time since her arrest on April 22, Wilmot explained when she arrived at school she’d planned for her “project to be approved” by her science teacher but bowed to pressure from classmates.

At around 7 a.m. before the start of the school day, Wilmot mixed toilet cleaner and a tiny piece of aluminum foil in an 8oz empty plastic water bottle. It caused the lid to pop off and vapor to be released from the bottle.

“I was taken to the resource officer’s office and I was arrested,” she said at the gathering in a Lakeland church. After being handcuffed she was escorted to a “juvenile detention for a few hours before my mom got me.”

Wilmot faced possible adult charges of making, possessing or discharging a destructive device and with possessing or discharging weapons on school grounds. Both charges are felonies.

If she had been convicted the 16-year-old could have faced up to five years in prison.

A case which drew national headlines

Her case drew national attention on social media sites, with many arguing that the school and police massively overreacted. An online petition on Change.org calling for the charges to be dropped was signed by nearly 200,000 supporters.

Principal Ron Pritchard told 10 News, “She made a bad choice. Honestly, I don’t think she was trying to be malicious to harm anybody or destroy something at school. She wanted to see what would happen [when the chemicals mixed] and I think it shocked her.”

Speaking to theGrio after the press conference, Kiera’s mother Marie Wilmot said, “The bottle and cap were not damaged. There was no criminal intent. No one was hurt and no property was damaged.

“I still believe she shouldn’t have been arrested,” she adds. “She should have been disciplined at school level. They overreacted.”

Lakeland lawyer Larry Hardaway, representing Wilmot, said Wednesday everyone who attended the conference got the opportunity to see the “two girls” and the “innocence surrounding them.”

Academic future still in question

The State Attorney’s Office announced last week it will not pursue criminal charges against Wilmot, provided she completes the conditions outlined in a pretrial diversion program. Those conditions are confidential because she is a juvenile.

Wilmot, who is now attending the Bill Duncan Opportunity School for at-risk students while her family tries to negotiate with the school board about her academic future, told theGrio, “It’s been pretty hard the past month. People were teasing me at the alternative school.”

However, the 16-year-old has had some good news with an unexpected offer of full scholarship to the United States Advanced Space Academy.

“When I heard about Kiera’s situation, I looked into it and discovered she was an honor student who’d never been in any trouble,” former NASA engineer Homer Hickam told theGrio.

“To encourage her to continue her interest in science, I decided to provide her a scholarship at the Advanced Space Academy, a college-accredited program at the world famous Space Camp.

After Kiera accepted my offer, I discovered she has a twin sister, Kayla, so I started raising funds through the website Crowdtilt.com so that Kayla could go to the Academy, too. The outpouring for Kiera and Kayla was wonderful.”

Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti