South Florida youth track coach gets 50 years in prison in teen molestation case
A former South Florida youth track coach convicted of molesting a 14-year-old back in 2010 was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Tuesday.
Darius Tremayne Lawshea, 51, had been found guilty last month in the incident involving a student from Miami Carol City Senior High School in Miami Gardens.
Lawshea had been the longtime head coach of Miami Gardens Xpress Track and Field, which provides organized track and field programs to children from 5 to 18 years of age, according to its website.
The victim said Lawshea had sex with her three times, including twice in his car and once at his apartment, when she was spending the night there because they had a track meet early the next morning, an arrest report said.
Lawshea wasn’t arrested until 2020 and the girl said she “never disclosed what happened because she was fearful because Mr. Lawshea was loved by everyone in the community and she didn’t want to get in trouble,” the report said.
At sentencing on Tuesday, another alleged victim addressed Lawshea and told him about how he groomed her in order to take advantage of her.
“I felt dirty and shamed,” the woman stated.
Despite the abuse forcing her to step away from track in college, the woman mentioned how she’s been finally able to get back to running after “finding the little girl” that had been hurt.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Andrea Wolfson described Lawshea’s actions as “some of the most egregious manipulation of a vulnerable young girl, a baby girl who believed in you.”
Lawshea wept as the sentence was handed down. The judge also designated him a sexual predator.
“I am committed to doing whatever the court requires of me. I ask the court for mercy and fairness,” he said while reading a statement.
The victim’s mother spoke with reporters after the sentencing.
“He still destroyed a lot of young girls’ lives and a lot of families’ lives including his own,” Tracy Mills said. “A lot of people put a lot of faith in him because of his stature in the community, because he was such a great coach.”
Lawshea has several similar cases involving other victims that are still pending.
