Teen sentenced in rape of dying classmate

The second of two North Philadelphia teenagers who pleaded guilty to raping a classmate as she lay dying after a day of hooky and heavy drinking was sentenced Wednesday to 6 to 12 years in prison.

Shareef Clemons, 18, said nothing before Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Ellen Ceisler imposed a prison term agreed to as part of his guilty plea.

Ceisler said that when Clemons gets out, he will be on five years probation and registered as a sex offender under the state "Megan's Law" for the rest of his life.

Clemons and friend Juan Williams, now 19, were charged in the March 7, 2008 incident that led to the death from alcohol poisoning of 15-year-old Kierra Johnson.

Williams pleaded guilty first and agreed to testify against Clemons if the case went to trial. Williams was sentenced in May to 5 to 10 years in prison.

Johnson's mother, Ernestine Harding, read a brief statement describing how her daughter's death harmed the emotional health of her other children as well as Kierra's own daughter.

"What do I say when she asks why she doesn't have a mother?" Harding said.

Assistant District Attorney Eileen Hurley asked Ceisler to impose the agreed-upon prison term, saying Clemons accepted responsibility for the crime and had saved the state the cost of trial.

Jack McMahon, Clemons' attorney, noted the presence in court of Clemons' parents and brother and called Johnson's death a "tragedy on multiple levels."

According to Hurley, the three teens met at a bus stop the morning of March 7, 2008 on their way to Community Education Partners Allegheny School in North Philadelphia. But instead of boarding the bus, Hurley said, the three decided to play hooky.

They went to Williams' house and spent the day watching TV and drinking.

At some point, Johnson lost consciousness. The boys carried her to the basement, put her on a weight bench and committed sex acts on her.

Williams' mother called emergency personnel when she got home at 5 p.m. and found the girl on the bench.

Hurley said an autopsy proved the presence of semen in the girl's body and that she could not have given consent because she was in and out of consciousness.

The autopsy showed Johnson died of alcohol poisoning and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.433 - more than five times the legal intoxication definition.

The boys were not charged with murder because there was no evidence they intended to cause Johnson's death.