Posted on 08/12/2009 12:09:24 PM PDT by IbJensen
Avion Lawson, 16, the youngest of four teens charged in the 2007 gang rape of a South Florida woman and her 12-year-old son, sits in a Palm Beach County court Wednesday. Lawson pleaded guilty Wednesday and has agreed to testify against the others. He faces a minimum of 49 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 13. LANNIS WATERS/THE PALM BEACH POST
The youngest of four men charged in the bone-chilling rape of a 35-year-old West Palm Beach woman and her 12-year-old son pleaded guilty Wednesday morning.
Avion Lawson, who was 14 when the woman and her son were gang raped in her apartment in 2007, wants to accept responsibility for his actions, his attorney told Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx.
"He's very sorry for what he did," attorney Bert Winkler said.
Lawson's fingerprints were on a wall and his DNA was in a condom left at the woman's apartment.
The 16-year-old has agreed to testify against the three others charged in the rape -- two of whom are to go to trial Tuesday.
However, while his cooperation may win him some points with Marx, there are no guarantees, Winkler admitted.
Lawson, 16, faces a maximum 11 life sentences plus 50 years, according to sentencing guidelines. While Marx has broad discretion when she sentences him on Oct. 13, he faces a minimum of 49 years in prison.
Marx repeatedly warned Lawson that she could sentence him to life in prison.
"Yes, ma'am," Lawson answered softly each time Marx asked him whether he understood the consequences of pleading guilty to 14 charges in connection with the rape that shocked the community in both its brutality and the tender ages of those charged.
Lawson's mother, Kathy, stood by him as he admitted his guilt. While stoic in front of the judge, she collapsed in tears outside the courtroom after her son was led back to jail by sheriff's deputies.
According to police, as many as 10 young men entered the apartment of a woman identified in court papers only as M.D. and her son, identified as C.J. They raped her repeatedly, making her son watch, police said. They then forced the two to engage in sexual activity. Finally, they dumped chemicals on the two and fled, after stealing the woman's cellphone and car, and ripping their home phone out of the wall.
The two walked to Good Samaritan Medical Center in the middle of the night to seek treatment, prosecutors said.
Two others accused of the rape who are to be tried beginning Tuesday are: Tommy Poindexter, 20, and Nathan Walker, 18. While they will be tried together, they will have separate juries.
Jakaris Taylor, 17, who was to be tried with Lawson, is to face a jury in September.
Prosecutors acknowledged that all involved are not in custody.
ok, there’s too many ambiguities here. I see your point.
My thoughts exactly. If someone like this honestly suddenly felt true remorse they would not be able to live with themselves. I suspect these are immoral people who can never be turned into what we would consider *normal* folk. Hopefully at the very least, they will never ever be turned loose on an unsuspecting society.
The article is badly written.
Mother and son were at home minding their own business. Gang of youths basically invaded their home. Attacked and robbed them, sexually assaulted both mother and son. And - sickening - forced the mother and son to participate in sexual activity with each other.
They poured bleach and chemicals on the victims to ‘destroy evidence.’ And then left. The mother and son waited several hours and walked to a hospital in the middle of the night, as I recall.
One of the worst stories I’ve heard.
That would not be enough for me. I'd have to get medieval on their arses.
Case one, from a series of photos on this whole drama
Caption: "Caption: (L to R) Celeste Arabaci and her friend Corrina England observe their children at play from a porch in Dunbar Village. Both women are expecting children."
Dunbar Village is a public housing project. So answer me this, why are these "poor" women, who already have children, having more children?
Case two, a caption that came with another photo in the series: "Rev. Al Sharpton held a news conference outside the state attorney's office March 11, 2008. to talk about the Florida primary and complaining about the treatment of the suspects in the Dunbar rape case."
Words fail me.
I will donate the ammo.
I would prefer to see the bare handed throat and ball removal method
Avion doesn’t look very intelligent. He’s probably smarter than the others. He was first in line to testify at the DA’s office.
All of that is true. I still have to say good for the Mom who got him to plead guilty. She didnt defend him or apologize for him.
This is a crime of horrendous effect
"As many as ten"--
Each captured perp needs to be given all the special treatment needed to rat the others and get all the perps in custody.
Then and only then do you let the family members into the room with the perps, close the soundproof door and go to Disneyland with your family.
Newports and Coca Cola help babies grow strong!
Such a vile story. They will never get what’s coming to them. This did get some national media coverage at the time, as I recall, but not much.
At least it was some though, compared to the Knoxville atrocities of Jan. 2007. If you are not following that, jury selection for the trial of the first of the 4 animals in that “politically incorrect” case starts today. Again we can count on the national media to be silent.
a tree, a rope and a necktie party is a much more appropriate plan for this POS.
I did read about that case - sickening. Are those defendants up for the death penalty?
you miss the point....while yes white trash has gotten worse ..much worse and are in fact becoming indistinguishable from lower class blacks only by skin color (and they are working on that), this sort of heinous thuggery is way disproportionately a black crime issue....we laugh here about how the news media which is also disproportionately black hates to report it as such or we actually get exceited when it’s white teens acting so depraved sorta like we appreciate Satanic equilibrium betweens the racial DNA or some other kneejerkedness we’ve been brow beaten into
i don’t blame the victims of droogery for this even if they are poor white or black sweathogs and popping out bastards right and left
they don’t deserve this
The point I was making had nothing to do with race. I was simply pointing out that many low income females in today’s inner cities are encouraged to have children to simply augment their income. How often do you think these offspring are raised to be anything more than “depraved”?
This crime was one of the worst I’d ever heard of. It sickens me to even read about it again.
I pray that these soulless animals will live extremely long lives rotting away in the roughest prisons on the planet. This poor mother and son should be placed under the Witness Protection program, and taken care of in every way possible by a special tax imposed upon those idiots who failed miserably to raise decent human beings. All their families should be locked up, as well. No one connected to these pigs should be shown mercy.
Oh my Lord, this case just makes me sick and my heart still breaks for this mother and son. May some wealthy PBC’ers step forward and help these two live an easier life. Just get them out of that sh!t#@le.
Yep. And this is who 0bama is “fighting for.”
Wait. Never mind. These girls are white.
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