A love so strong but so wrong
March 18, 2007
A 28-year-old Kingston man whose love, his attorney said, for a 15-year-old girl was so strong that he was unable to avoid having sex with her, even after being previously charged with sexually assaulting the minor, was sentenced to three years probation in the Home Circuit Court on Friday.
Greenwich Town resident Darren Taylor, who pleaded guilty to three counts of carnal abuse last week, was originally charged with two counts of carnal abuse, stemming from allegations that he had sex with the girl in March 2006 and then again along a highway in his car three months later.
However, during the time he was before the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court on these two counts, he met the child at around 5:00 pm on October 27, 2006 after school and took her to his house where he had sex with her.
While travelling in his vehicle with the girl on the same day, Taylor was stopped by the police and questioned before being arrested. The matter was later transferred to the Circuit Court where Taylor, who is a father of two, pleaded guilty.
In his attempt at explaining his client's actions to Justice Marjorie Cole-Smith, attorney Robert Armstrong said: "The strength of the relationship was such that [he] was unable to pull himself from the relationship and caused [him] to act the way he did."
Armstrong begged Cole-Smith to extend leniency to his client as he has two children who depend on him for support. The lawyer also said that the girl's mother had asked that he not be sent to prison.
"What distresses me is that you went back a third time after being charged with the two counts," Cole-Smith lashed a weeping Taylor. "You can't allow your emotions to rule your head, no matter how strong the love is."
After passing the non-custodial sentence, Cole-Smith strongly warned Taylor to stay away from young girls as he continued to shed tears.
A relieved Taylor then left the dock, sat beside a heavily bearded man, himself weeping over his own legal problem, said a word of prayer and pulled out a picture of his children and kissed it several times.
Author: Observer Reporter
Source: Jamaica Observer
