Texas Honor Student Jailed for Truancy Will Have Conviction Erased from Record
The Willis High School junior who drew national attention last week after she was forced to spend 24 hours in jail for missing four days of school will not have to endure a tarnished record after all.
Judge Lanny Moriarty, who previously said he sentenced 17-year-old Diane Tran to serve jail-time because he wanted to make an example of her, reviewed Tran's many hardships and determined that extenuating circumstanced led to her truancy.
Tran was effectively abandoned in Willis by her divorced parents and now works two jobs to support her siblings in addition to taking multiple AP and college-level courses.
"She is not someone unwilling to come to class because she's attending a rock concert," said her attorney Brian Wice, who is working pro bono. "She's an incredible gal who is working and studying sometimes 24 hours a day and contributing to her siblings' support more than a teenager should have a right to do."
Wice called Moriarty's decision to vacate Tran's contempt of court conviction "true justice," and said the next step is to expunge her record completely.
People from all over the country came together to help Tran by donating to a fund organized by the Louisiana Children's Education Alliance. The drive raised over $100,000, but Tran told ABC News she doesn't intend to take a penny of it.
"There's some other kid out there struggling more...than me," she said.
