Teen Sex Case Discussed on 'Today'

Genarlow Wilson, an athlete and honor student who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a sex act committed when he was 17, said on The Today Show Friday that he has learned from his time behind bars.

Wilson, now 21, had consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a New Year's Eve party where marijuana and alcohol was served in 2003. While acquitted of raping a second 17-year-old girl, Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation. He was given a mandatory 10-year prison sentence under a state law that has since been changed.

Speaking over the telephone from prison, Wilson said Friday, "I don't condone that kind of behavior and, yes, I made a mistake and I feel like I'm very apologetic, you know, this whole time I've been facing up to my mistakes. Everyone has made a bad decision. I am just asking them to just look at it as that and be able to give me another chance at life, a fair chance at that."

On Monday, a judge ruled that the sentence given to Wilson was "a grave miscarriage of justice" and ordered that he be released. But the state quickly filed an appeal in the case, which kept Wilson behind bars while his attorney fights for bond.

"That was very disappointing to hear but at the same time I still feel very good about it because, you know, he basically said that everything that we've been trying to do and everything we're fighting for, you know, he decided in his ruling and he went along with it," Wilson said. He added, "It was a huge step but also we went backwards."

Wilson's attorney, B.J. Bernstein, appeared on The Today Show with Wilson?s mother. Bernstein said she bought Genarlow Wilson a suit to wear to celebrate his freedom before receiving the disappointing news of the appeal just a short time later.

"She was so happy. In all the time I've worked with her, I've never seen her like this and then 90 minutes later to have it taken away was just devastating," Bernstein said.

Bernstein is awaiting a bond hearing set for July 5. Attorney General Thurbert Baker said Thursday that he does not oppose bond in the case, while Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, who prosecuted the case, hasn't agreed to it.

"So we still keep running into the same problems with our government officials when common sense and reason and this judge in the order talking about what's fair and just said let Genarlow Wilson go," Bernstein said.

While Baker said he thought the sentence was too harsh, he said he had no choice but to appeal the judge's ruling that would have released Wilson. Baker said he believes the judge had no authority to order Wilson's release -- and that if the ruling were to stand, others convicted of aggravated child molestation would demand to be released as well.