June 18th of the year 2007 will be a day regarded eternally in infamy, as that day bore witness to one of the most sadistic and horrific crimes to have transpired in recent history. On that balmy day, 10 teenagers donning masks forced their way into the home of a 35-year old Haitian immigrant and her 12-year old son. After gaining control of the two victims, the barbarous miscreants proceeded to viciously beat the woman, following it up by gang-raping and sodomizing her for several hours while other members of the group savagely beat her pre-teen son.
Not content with their handiwork, the misguided teens forced their victims to engage in sexual acts, with the mother having to perform fellatio on her child while at gunpoint. Both were then doused in cleaning chemicals in an effort to “cleanse” the scene of any incriminating evidence, fleeing the home soon after. Now, two years after the incident, justice is about to finally be served as four of the main instigators in the assault have a date with a judge.
18-year old Nathan Walker and 20-year old Tommy Lee Poindexter were two of the first suspects to be implicated in the heinous crime, and as such, will be the first to try to weasel out of the case that their defense attorneys have described as “tough.” With DNA and fingerprint trails serving as solid police-submitted evidence, etching a “win” in favor of the defense will be nothing short of impossible. Adding to the defense’s headache will be Avion Lawson, the youngest of all those involved and self-imposed turncoat. Set to stand trial in September, the 16-year old plead guilty to 14 charges which include sexual battery, burglary, kidnapping, grand theft, and promoting the sexual performance of a child.
Lawson’s attorney, Bert Winkler, told the judge that his client was “very sorry” and that he is “…taking responsibility for everything he did,” revealing afterward that he would cooperate fully with the state if called to testify against his former friends. Both Walker and Poindexter are set to stand trial together, though both will have different juries. 17 year-old Jakaris Taylor is scheduled to go to trial in September. If convicted, everyone involved faces the maximum of 11 life sentences and the possible addition of 50 more years with a minimum of 50 years.
In similar news, Tashia Edwards of Syracuse, New York was accused of forcing a teenage girl to have sex with random men to settle a debt that she felt the teen owed her. According police reports, the girl stayed at Edwards’ residence in December of 2008 but was forced to stay against her will when she tried to leave. Edwards is said to have taken the girl’s clothing, leaving her naked, threatening to cause physical harm to the young woman is she did not engage in a myriad of sexual acts with numerous men to pay off her “expenses” which included fees for food consumption and a room for the night. The 33 year-old woman was charged with two counts of sex trafficking and one count of unlawful imprisonment, two felonies and a misdemeanor respectively and is currently awaiting trial.
