Context is the parents didn't like him because he wasn't "good enough" for their daughter. They were both still in high school, she was almost 16, and they pressed charges before she turned 16, which is the age of consent, or was at the time anyway. He tried to fight it based on how close she was to turning 16, but her family was well known in a smaller town, so who do you think the court system would side with? He wasn't a bad guy at all, he just wasn't of a good enough social class for them.