Kareem Drayton, the 19-year-old who pleaded guilty to rape and robbery charges stemming from a crime spree last fall, was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison today before his family and about a dozen members of 48th Street Neighbors, a group formed in the wake of his crimes.
Before the sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Catherine Thurston read aloud statements from the victim of the highly publicized gunpoint mugging and rape last September near 48th and Springfield, and from the 48th Street Neighbors group.
“Though I am often troubled by the portion of the population in this country that are behind bars, Kareem Drayton needs to be separated from the rest of the population,” the victim wrote. “No one on earth is responsible for where he is today other than Kareem Drayton.”
The statement from the 48th Street Neighbors spoke about the sense of loss and insecurity in the community that followed the crimes. Along with the rape and robbery, Drayton also pleaded guilty to other gunpoint robberies and assaults. All of the victims later moved out of the neighborhood.
“There is a deep sense of pain, anger, and grief for many of us,” the group wrote. “In the end, this is a loss to Kareem as well.”
The full text of the statement is below.
Following the statements, Drayton stood, drew a deep breath and addressed the court, his family and community members.
“I would truly like to apologize to my victims and the community I hurt,” he said. “I am not the monster you think I am.”
Drayton said he was “under the influence” when he committed the crimes.
Judge Ann Butchart referred to the victim and community statements while sentencing Drayton.
“Compassion is one of the strengths of our city,” she said. “There is a tremendous degree of compassion from the victim and the community members. That compassion gives me hope for our city and hope for the defendants who come into my courtroom.”
The following is the text of the “impact statement” from the 48th Street Neighbors delivered during the sentencing of Kareem Drayton:
October 18th, 2012
To The Court and to Kareem Drayton:
I am writing on behalf of the 48th Street Neighbors, which is a group of people that has joined together to create a stronger community. We began in response to the crimes Kareem Drayton is being sentenced for today, and so it is particularly important that we tell the court that we are here in support of the victims, who were our neighbors, and the ways we have been affected by these crimes.
There has been a struggle to regain a sense of safety for us all, and a sense of loss. We are aware that all of the victims ended up moving out of the neighborhood, due to the trauma they suffered. That was a loss to us all, and to them. There is a deep sense of pain, anger, and grief for many of us.
In the end, this is a loss to Kareem as well. Our community is full of people who would give him so much more than their money or belongings, if given the opportunity. We are teachers, social workers, mentors, mothers, fathers and prayer warriors. We serve people just like Kareem as part of our daily lives. And now he will not have the opportunity to know us for who we are because of his choices. He has cut himself off from these particular victims in a very profound way. This is a deep tragedy.
Kareem, the material possessions that you gained through your crimes came at too high a cost. Your choice to ignore our humanity cost you too much of yours. Don’t allow anyone to encourage you to do that again, or to maintain that attitude towards us. It will cost you your soul. We can be so much more than how you see us, and you can be so much more than what you have allowed yourself to become. When you come out of prison, remember that about us, and yourself.
We look for justice in this case. Please consider the seriousness of these crimes, and how the victims’ lives have been forever changed, and what they have lost as well as what we have lost as a community. Also, there are those of us who are praying for you Kareem, to turn and be changed to be a real man, one who can handle the truth about those around him and himself. Our hope is that what is decided here will serve both of those purposes.
Yours,
48th Street Neighbors
October 18th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
This is an amazing statement. You have done an incredible job of balancing pain, anger, grief, sorrow and hope. I hope that it has a positive effect on everyone involved, Kareem, his family and friends, the judge, the DA and the neighborhood. You have certainly made me think about neighborhood crime with a bigger perspective. Thank you!
October 18th, 2012 at 8:12 pm
Wow, this is a heart-wrenching, hope-filled, wonderful post. I’m proud to live in a community that can respond in such a firm, compassionate, and thoughtful way to a tragedy like this. Bravo!
October 18th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Ditto what Rachel & David have said…
The above “impact statement” from the 48th St. Neighbors represents what a truly vital, supportive community looks and sounds like.
Solidarity forever!
October 18th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
“We are aware that all of the victims ended up moving out of the neighborhood, due to the trauma they suffered.”
Then you are aware of something that is not true. I know for an absolute fact that one of Drayton’s victims moved out of that neighborhood because she had lost her roommate and could no longer afford the rent there. Her life goes on largely unchanged.
Did you speak with all of the victims to ascertain the many and varied reasons they might have moved out of the neighborhood? No. I know for certain that you did not. I can speak with some authority about two of the victims. One of them didn’t live in the neighborhood in the first place. The other moved because she could no longer afford the rent. The move was already in the works at the time of the crime.
“Please consider the seriousness of these crimes, and how the victims’ lives have been forever changed,”
No. On this, I can speak with authority about one victim. Her life is well within her control. Not at all “forever changed” by that sniveling, idiotic, punk criminal.
A criminal tried to take control away from her. Tried. Went to prison. Don’t allow your well-meant words to further wrestle for control of this person’s life. She can speak for herself when she chooses.
October 19th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Great, 4 is the number of posts we can go before someone says something unnecessarily negative. Good to know.
October 19th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Sorry to spoil everyone’s feel-good moment, but sometimes reality is unnecessarily negative.
October 19th, 2012 at 4:10 pm
And I will note that you’re speaking for the same victim you’re saying other people shouldn’t – that only the she can speak for herself. Does she know you’re posting on her on her behalf?
October 19th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
Yes, she does.
October 19th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
listen. ain’t nobody is perfect, no situation is unmitigated sunshine. if any words that have been expressed didn’t fully and with full accuracy convey the reality of what transpired and what has since come to pass, that is a shame.
that said, i feel it’s pretty clear that what happened was pretty shitty. i also feel that the response to this great misfortune has been simply remarkable. while we’re not all on the same page all of the time, we have become a stronger, more interconnected community, and that’s a really good thing. who would have anticipated that such senseless (“i was under the influence”) animosity and violence could bear with it such a significant silver lining?
massive kudos to all involved in this effort for turning a very sour lemon into lemonade.
as for the future, can we do better? yep. so let’s keep on working at it.
October 20th, 2012 at 10:10 am
Now he says he was “under the influence.” That’s precious. He was not drunk, I know that for sure. Smoking weed doesn’t make you rape people. That dumb criminal just doesn’t get it. He thinks everyone buys his, “I’m young, I went to a bad school, I was under the influence, my mommy is mean, feel sorry for me” bullshit. Only a small handful of well-meaning but naive people are buying that shit, kiddo. Enjoy prison. The previously non-violent people who our criminal injustice enterprise have locked up do not take well to rapists and cocky idiots. You will not have an easy time. 🙂
So happy that this piece of shit has been sentenced! The neighborhood may not be safe but at least we know of one menace that won’t be out there. Ever again. Ha!
Kudos to the 48th Street Neighbors for the neighborhood walks and pot-lucks and porch hops and such. That is how you do it! Keep it up!
October 20th, 2012 at 10:20 am
Hooray for those who are reaching out to get to know their neighbors. That’s how you build a strong ‘hood.
It’s important not to try to “help” people who don’t want helped. It’s important not to speak for people without their consent (ever, but especially rape victims, I think, as overstepping your boundaries with a rape victim can actually be a “trigger” and very traumatic).
But those are LEARNING MOMENTS. Learn, and move on. You’re all doing essentially a good thing!
October 20th, 2012 at 11:32 am
Here’s my statement: Kareem, sorry to hear you didn’t get life w/o chance of parole. Rot in prison. Hope you get a good dose of what you dished out, plus interest.
October 21st, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Great, please pass the message along that it’s shitty to crap on people only trying to help, especially ones who went to court repeatedly so your friend wouldn’t have to.
October 23rd, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Wow, this “Dumb Criminals :)” guy sounds like my kinda dude. Seriously, I hope this raving animal rots in his cell. I have no doubt this little twerp will learn what rape is like.
October 30th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
I would like to echo the sentiment of “Nobody’s” post. While I suspect that you had the best of intentions with this letter, speaking for an entire group of people, particularly a group you do not belong to, is dangerous ground. As a sexual abuse survivor myself, I would never want someone to speak to the effects it has had on me, or to speak on my behalf. It is presumptuous and offensive.
Also, who are the “us” and “people like you” you are referring to throughout your letter? Is this a reference to race and/or class? Are there any people of color in the “48th St Neighbors?” Just curious, since the rampant white do-gooderism in west philly was a predominant factor in my relocating elsewhere.
October 30th, 2012 at 7:44 pm
Jesus Christ, of course there are people of color in 48th Street Neighbors! West Philly, the place where no good deed goes unpunished.
October 31st, 2012 at 10:16 am
Why presume that the people who wrote the statement don’t know what it feels like to be victims? How do you know they’ve never been victimized at some point in their lives? It was improper to speak to the experiences of the victims without specific knowledge and permission, but I think the offensiveness of doing so is tempered somewhat by the fact that it was done in an attempt to get a POS violent criminal off the streets for as long as possible.
October 31st, 2012 at 10:26 am
WPE will be glad to know that some of us neighbors are conducting outreach in order to diversify the area’s white population to include white bigots, vandals, xenophobes, paranoiacs, drug addicts, con artists, political cronies, and so on. Do-gooderism is only one face of white culture and we agree that it is overrepresented in our community. We want EVERYONE to feel welcome in West Philadelphia, not just those who seek positive social change by working cooperatively across lines of race, class and politics.