Teen's
Mother Protesting Yayo Book Tour
(March 10th)
G-Unit
rapper Tony Yayo plead guilty last month
to harassing the 14-year-old son of Czar
Entertainment CEO Jimmy "Henchmen"
Rosemond.
According to Allhiphop, as part of his
sentence, the rapper, born Marvin Bernard,
signed on to promote literacy in a campaign
by Glen Toby's Book Bank Foundation. However,
Cynthia Reed, the mother of the 14-year-old
harassed by the rapper, feels that Yayo
is being presented as a role model for
teens - which, she believes, is clearly
not the case. "Shame on you Glenn
Toby for letting Marvin Bernard's punishment
look like willful charity," said
Reed said in a statement. "Crimes
against children should never be legitimized
just because a person is an entertainer.
A public apology is appropriate at this
time, not only from Tony Yayo but from
50 Cent for denying this event ever happened."
In March of 2007, Yayo and his crew surrounded
the boy, and slapped the boy. Yayo associate
Lowell Fletcher admitted that he he "saw
a young boy wearing a Czar Entertainment
T-shirt" and then slapped the boy
and grabbed at his shirt.
Yayo was sentenced to 150 hours of community
service; Fletcher plead guilty to misdemeanor
endangering the welfare of a child, and
was sentenced to nine months in prison.
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