Man, 43, charged with raping teen
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on July 13, 2008 2:01 AM
By BONNIE EDWARDS
News-Argus Staff Writer
Neighboring campers and staff helped surround a rape suspect until authorities arrived at a popular recreational park to find and arrest him Friday.
Tony Burton Taylor, 43, of Kinston is being held under $300,000 bond in the Wayne County Jail after allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl at Busco Beach.
He had crossed a body of water at the park in a boat, but deputies quickly found Taylor partially submerged under bushes in the swamp bordering the park.
"The deputies said when he came up out of the water, he had a knife in his hand. They had to talk him into giving it up. He didn't comply to start with," Sheriff Carey Winders said.
When the emergency call was received Friday about 6 p.m. at the county's 911 center, campers and employees at the scene told dispatchers that the suspect was trying to get away, but that they had him cornered in a woods.
When deputies arrived they found a large group of ATV riders and park staff workers surrounding a section of swampy woodland that the suspect had entered.
Taylor told deputies that he had taken a number of pills, and they took him to Wayne Memorial Hospital to be evaluated, then charged and put him in jail.
Investigators said Saturday that Taylor is a habitual felon and has an extensive felony record including numerous breaking and entering charges, assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon and escaping from a correctional facility.
He currently faces charges in Lenoir County and has warrants out on him in that county.
"This morning, they took him back to the jail," Winders said. "I appreciate everybody working together. It's unfortunate it happened. My heart goes out to the victim. But I am glad we were able to catch him and put him where he needs to be right now."
The sandy park south of Goldsboro on Bryan Boulevard off U.S. 117 South is popular with swimmers, campers, boaters and all-terrain vehicle riders.
North Carolina law forbids the publishing of the names of rape victims under the age of 16. The News-Argus does not publish the names of rape victims of any age.