Father sentenced to two years in prison after he took part in an attack on a 13-year-old boy who made a lewd comment to his daughter on a cruise

By Associated Press and Dailymail.com Reporter From Daily Mail UK

Jason Lawson, 33, of Toledo, Ohio was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday

Lawson was arrested after failing to stop his brother-in-law from attacking a 13-year-old boy who propositioned his daughter on a 2015 Royal Caribbean cruise

He apologized profusely in court on Monday but the judge refused to grant him leniency

A man has been sentenced to two years in prison after he participated in an attack on a 13-year-old boy who made a lewd comment to his daughter on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

The SunSentinel reports that 33-year-old Jason Lawson, of Toledo, Ohio, and his 31-year-old brother-in-law, Arturo Martinez, refused to let the boy leave the cruise ship’s library after Martinez heard the boy offer Lawson’s daughter a ‘key chain for her virginity.’

Prosecutors in Broward County, Florida said Lawson did nothing in 2015 as Martinez simulated a sex act on the boy after forcing him to pull down his pants.

Lawson pleaded no contest Friday to charges of child abuse and false imprisonment. He apologized Monday, telling the judge he was embarrassed he didn’t stop the attack. He said he was afraid about losing his job and being unable to provide for his wife and their four kids.

‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, according to the Sun Sentinel. ‘I didn’t mean any harm. This was not me.’

But the judge refused to grant Lawson leniency, saying that he made his apology about himself – not about the victim.

‘Remorse should be focused on the victim,’ Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Bailey said. ‘That was not in your statement at all.’

The incident happened aboard the Independence of the Seas on August 13, when Martinez overheard the boy propositioning Lawson’s daughter with a key chain.

Lawson made the boy apologize to his daughter on that occasion.

But then Lawson and his brother-in-law cornered the boy three days later in the ship’s library.

The boy said that Martinez yelled at him for several minutes, pinned him against a wall and held his arms over his head.

Martinez then took off his shirt as if preparing to fight, before grabbing the boy by the throat and forcing him face down on a couch.

‘This will never happen again!’ Martinez yelled, according to the arrest report.

The teen claims that Martinez pulled down his pants and ordered the boy to pull down his pants. He then forced the boy’s face into the couch several times before leaving.

Martinez was arrested when the boat docked in Port Everglades six hours later.

In addition to the two years in prison, Lawson will face five years of probation and won’t be able to coach football or basketball -like he used to- to anyone under the age of 18.

Martinez was also arrested after the incident. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His next court date is scheduled for April 6.

IMAGES:

Jason Lawson (pictured) was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday for letting his brother-in-law attack a boy who proposition his daughter

The incident happened aboard the Independence of the Seas in 2015, when Arturo Martinez, refused to let the boy leave the cruise ship’s library after Martinez heard the boy offer Lawson’s daughter a ‘key chain for her virginity’

Jason Lawson Arturo Martinez
Lawson (left) apologized for not stopping his brother-in-law. Martinez (right) is awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty to his charges

For more on this story go to: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4175740/Dad-sentenced-attack-teen-propositioned-daughter.html#ixzz4XRogBtEW