After his arrest, prosecutors said Taylor sealed his fate by conversing with a friend by phone from jail about his involvement in the crime. The call was recorded and played in court. During the conversation, Taylor lamented that his accomplice had not worn a mask, as he had, and said he could not be convicted of rape because he believed he had not left a DNA sample.
The two victims, both college-bound, were not present at the sentencing because, Shellenberger said, "they couldn't bring themselves to come into court and face the defendant one more time."
Taylor, who was arrested at his mother's house on Woodstock Avenue in Baltimore, graduated from Southern High School - now known as Digital Harbor High School - and later became certified to operate heavy equipment. He has three siblings.
His lawyer, Marshall Henslee, told the judge that his client had been "using drugs since about 12" and that at the time of his arrest he had a $60-a-day habit.
Taylor's mother, Maleasa Carpenter, was so distraught during the sentencing that the judge warned that he might have to order her out.
Later, when she addressed the court, she said through tears, "I apologize to the family that it happened, but I just don't believe he did this." She called her son "a good kid."
Carpenter urged the judge not to "take my child away for the rest of his life - I don't think I can handle that."
The defendant's father, Walter Taylor, also asked for leniency for his son, and apologized to the families of the two teenagers.
"I know it's a traumatic experience for them," he said, "that they have to deal with for the rest of their lives."
