A Mobile man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to a series of violent crimes that began with the abduction of a University of South Alabama student from a campus parking lot earlier this year.
JaWaun Dawson, 24, who lived in the 8700 block of Stillwood Court, was sentenced earlier this week following a guilty plea entered last month. He admitted to charges of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse and first-degree robbery stemming from the April incident.
According to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office, the victim was abducted at gunpoint on April 24 from a University of South Alabama parking lot. Prosecutors said she was forced to perform a sex act before being driven to nearby Municipal Park, where the assault continued. Her wallet was also taken during the attack.
A Mobile County judge sentenced Dawson to life in prison on both the robbery and sodomy convictions. He received an additional 10-year sentence on the sex abuse charge, with the sentences addressing the full scope of the April 24 attack near the university’s campus.
The case did not end with the University of South Alabama incident. Prosecutors said Dawson was also connected to a break-in the day before, on April 23, when he forced his way into a woman’s apartment in the 100 block of East Drive. During that incident, an iPhone and an Xbox gaming console were reported stolen. Dawson pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in connection with that case and was sentenced to an additional 20 years.
The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office presented the case as part of a broader effort to hold violent offenders accountable for crimes targeting the university community. The University of South Alabama, along with Mobile police, had worked to identify a suspect in the weeks following the assault before Dawson was taken into custody.
Court records show the sentences were handed down together, resolving all of the charges connected to both the April 23 apartment break-in and the April 24 abduction and assault near the university. The case drew concern from students and residents in the area surrounding the campus, where the two incidents occurred within a day of each other.
Officials with the District Attorney’s Office noted that the life sentences reflect the severity of the crimes and are intended to ensure Dawson does not pose a further threat to the community.