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As we previously reported, Kim Zolciak’s son KJ Biermann was recently arrested on sexual assault charges.
Kim says KJ is innocent, but he’s still being held without bail as he awaits trial.
Now, Kim’s lawyers are making it clear that they do not believe the 15-year-old son belongs in the adult criminal justice system.
KJ, who was 14 at the time of the alleged incident, is facing seven felony charges stemming from allegations involving a female classmate at a Life Time fitness center in Alpharetta, Georgia.
And if the son of the former Bravo star were ultimately convicted as an adult, the potential consequences would be staggering.
According to a new court filing obtained by Page Six, KJ’s attorney Jason Sheffield says the aggravated charges carry a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison without parole — and potentially life in prison.
Sheffield is asking a Fulton County judge to transfer the case to juvenile court instead.
“At fifteen, KJ’s story is not finished,” Sheffield wrote, arguing that the teenager’s development is ongoing and that his future should not be determined solely by the allegations against him.
The attorney maintains that KJ is capable of rehabilitation through the juvenile justice system, where he could receive treatment, supervision, education, and structure.
“The adult system asks principally what punishment an offense deserves,” Sheffield wrote. “The transfer statute asks a different question: What should happen to this child?”
KJ has been indicted on charges including aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, three counts of aggravated sexual battery involving a child under 16 and false imprisonment.
He has pleaded not guilty through his attorney, who has repeatedly maintained that his client is “100% innocent.”
Sheffield has also pointed to a passed polygraph examination and the absence of male DNA in the areas identified by the alleged victim.
The attorney is asking the court to provide additional privacy protections, arguing that the intense media attention surrounding the case could affect witnesses and their recollections.
“Neither child chose this attention,” Sheffield wrote. “Yet both must now live beneath it.”
KJ remains in custody at the Metro Regional Youth Detention Center in Atlanta and is being held without bond. His next bond hearing is scheduled for September 11, while his arraignment is expected to take place October 14.
For now, KJ’s legal team is fighting to keep the case in juvenile court — and to make sure a 15-year-old does not face an adult prison sentence before he has even had the chance to grow up.
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