T
Traci Steele
Guest
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100608/NEWS01/6080396/1002/news01
SALISBURY -- Two mothers were brought to tears in Circuit Court as one
court case served as the catalyst for the collision of their lives.
The mother of a 7-year-old girl stood at the prosecution table
struggling to speak as she wiped her eyes while explaining to the judge
how her young daughter is now leery of men and strangers.
"She's so scared of everybody, I can't take her to the doctor without
her screaming," said the child's mother. "I have to hold her down. ...
She's scared to go to school."
In the second to last pew in Courtroom 3, another mother wept throughout
the hearing for her son, who had pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor.
She mostly looked at the floor for the duration of the hearing while
waiting for the judge to sentence her son, David Louis Harlowe.
His mother stood by her mentally disabled 39-year-old son throughout his
life and remained one of his biggest advocates, according to statements
made in court by defense attorney Kelley Spahn of the Public Defender
Office.
However, by his own hand, Harlowe inadvertently added his mother to the
list of victims in the case, according to the judge.
"Mr. Harlowe, this is the darkest day of your life and perhaps the
darkest day in the life of your mother," said Judge Sidney S. Campen
Jr., a retired Talbot County Circuit Court judge. "You pay her back for
all she has done for you. There's nothing you can do for (the victim's
mother) or this child."
On Monday, Harlowe was sentenced to serve seven years in prison and five
years of probation. The special conditions of his probation ban him from
having unsupervised contact with minors and from accessing the Internet.
"I messed up," Harlowe said before the judge announced his sentence.
"That's all I have to say."
Harlowe was arrested in May 2009 after a family member of the victim
reported the sexual abuse to authorities. He was dating the victim's
mother and baby-sat for her often.
"You were entrusted to care for this child while (the victim's mother)
was working," Campen said. "But for your sexual fantasies and your
inability to control your sexual fantasies, this all took place.
SALISBURY -- Two mothers were brought to tears in Circuit Court as one
court case served as the catalyst for the collision of their lives.
The mother of a 7-year-old girl stood at the prosecution table
struggling to speak as she wiped her eyes while explaining to the judge
how her young daughter is now leery of men and strangers.
"She's so scared of everybody, I can't take her to the doctor without
her screaming," said the child's mother. "I have to hold her down. ...
She's scared to go to school."
In the second to last pew in Courtroom 3, another mother wept throughout
the hearing for her son, who had pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor.
She mostly looked at the floor for the duration of the hearing while
waiting for the judge to sentence her son, David Louis Harlowe.
His mother stood by her mentally disabled 39-year-old son throughout his
life and remained one of his biggest advocates, according to statements
made in court by defense attorney Kelley Spahn of the Public Defender
Office.
However, by his own hand, Harlowe inadvertently added his mother to the
list of victims in the case, according to the judge.
"Mr. Harlowe, this is the darkest day of your life and perhaps the
darkest day in the life of your mother," said Judge Sidney S. Campen
Jr., a retired Talbot County Circuit Court judge. "You pay her back for
all she has done for you. There's nothing you can do for (the victim's
mother) or this child."
On Monday, Harlowe was sentenced to serve seven years in prison and five
years of probation. The special conditions of his probation ban him from
having unsupervised contact with minors and from accessing the Internet.
"I messed up," Harlowe said before the judge announced his sentence.
"That's all I have to say."
Harlowe was arrested in May 2009 after a family member of the victim
reported the sexual abuse to authorities. He was dating the victim's
mother and baby-sat for her often.
"You were entrusted to care for this child while (the victim's mother)
was working," Campen said. "But for your sexual fantasies and your
inability to control your sexual fantasies, this all took place.