US teen charged with gang rape sentenced to 20 years in prison

A teenager charged with gang rape and beating a Haitian immigrant and her son was sentenced to 20 years of prison.

Photo: US teen charged with gang rape sentenced to 20 years in prison

Jakaris Taylor, 16, pleaded guilty Monday to sexual battery and burglary and will testify against three other teens charged in the June attack, according to the state attorney's office. He will be credited for 130 days already served.

Three other teens - 18, 17 and 14 - face charges including sexual battery, kidnapping and burglary. They could face life sentences if convicted.

A woman told police that as many as 10 masked teens accosted her and her 12-year-old son in their apartment in a housing project.

The teens are accused of raping and sodomizing the mother, forcing her at gunpoint to perform oral sex on her son, and beating both of them. The suspects then doused them with cleaning solutions in an attempt to destroy evidence, police said.

Taylor's lawyer, Chris Haddad, told The Palm Beach Post that the teen has expressed remorse and regret and wants a chance to have a family when he is released.

The accuser is satisfied with the plea deal, said state prosecutor Lanna Belohlavek.

"She's hoping by having this defendant testify against the others, she won't have to - nor will her son have to - go through the trauma of reliving it," Belohlavek told the Post.