MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Before he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for repeatedly raping and abusing a 16-year-old runaway in his Harlem apartment, Nathaniel Jackson, 35, taunted his victim.
"I just wanted to help you," said Jackson, his voice booming through a microphone in Manhattan Supreme Court Monday.
The 16-year-old Harlem teen cried into the comforting arms of her mother as her convicted attacker continued his rant, telling Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bonnie Wittner he knew he would never get a fair trial and he "fully expects this case will be reversed."
Wittner saw things differently.
“Your statement is a perfect example…he [Jackson] is a poster-child for why he richly deserves the maximum sentence,” said Wittner, adding “You can not be rehabilitated…you have shown absolutely no remorse.”
Wittner said her 40-year sentence for his “violent, heinous” crimes should serve as warning for anyone even considering preying on our society’s “most vulnerable people.”
Prosecutors said the 16-year-old runaway, who’d already suffered a troubled life, fell into the hands of Jackson, starting in February 2011. He used “his power to manipulate her,” instead of protecting the teen, prosecutors said.
For six months, he repeatedly beat the girl, strangled her until she’d lose consciousness and raped her.
Up until recently, prosecutors said, Jackson had tried calling his alleged victim from Rikers to coerce and intimidate her.
Jackson managed to manipulate another teen he abused and raped, prosecutors said — that case was eventually dismissed because the teen refused to cooperate with authorities.
Jackson, who was convicted of two robberies in his teens, also had more than 13 other domestic violence complaints against him.
Prosecutors detailed reports of his assault and violence against a string of other woman, including smashing a woman into a mirror, pushing a pregnant woman into a bathub with her other child already in the tub and tying up another teen with electric cord.
In his statement to the court, Jackson chalked up the domestic violence accusations — that never led to a conviction — to “baby mama drama,” telling the judge he had “five baby mamas.”
The victim in the current case finally fled Jackson’s apartment in August 2011, after a particularly violent rape and strangulation. A friend contacted authorities.
The young girl mustered the courage to testify against Jackson during his September trial. And on Oct. 1, a jury convicted Jackson of a host of charges, including first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree strangulation, third-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child.
“I’m so glad this day is finally over,” the victim's mother told reporters after the sentencing. “It’s been a long-time coming.”
