The ‘Affluenza Kid’ Is Getting Moved Out Of The Juvenile System And Now Faces Real Jail Time

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Ethan Couch, better known as the ‘Affluenza Kid’ whose lawyer argued that a life of privilege left him mentally incapable of understanding how his actions had consequences, will soon be learning that his actions have consequences. A judge has just ruled that his case will be transferred from the juvenile system to the much less lenient adult courts when Couch turns 19 on April 11th.

Ethan’s 2013 case angered the nation when the drunk teen crashed his speeding truck into a group of people helping with a broken down SUV. Four died and nine were seriously injured. The teen only ended up getting 10 years probation with no jail time, which seems pretty damn light considering the horrific loss of life he was completely responsible for with his drunk driving.

There was some sort of silver lining to the probation sentence: if Couch violated that probation, he was liable to earn a much stiffer penalty than the juvenile court judge could levy at the time of the crime. And now that’s coming into play. A photo of Ethan playing beer pong put him in violation of his probation. Rather than face his parole officer and explain the minor infraction, he fled with his mother to Mexico.

Several weeks later, authorities tracked them down after Couch ordered a pizza to his hotel on a credit card. Here’s what he’s facing now, according to NBC News:

The move to adult court means Couch could be sentenced to 120 days in jail if it’s found he violated his 10-year probation, which runs through 2024. If he were to violate his probation again, he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison per each crash victim.

Once again, you’d think fleeing the country would be the kind of thing that gets the book thrown at you, but 120 days is just a start. The chances of this terrible person making it to 2024 without doing more terrible person things is pretty low. Ethan Couch is about to get a small taste of consequences. His oh so terrible case of affluenza makes it almost guaranteed he’ll earn more soon.

(via NBC News)