Citing a judicial rule that pertains to a defendant's fair trial, Hillsborough circuit judge Margaret Taylor has voluntarily recused herself from the Ladarrius Jackson sexual battery case.
The Hillsborough Public Defender's office said it was prepared to ask her to do so, anyway.
On Wednesday, Jackson, a 22-year-old defensive end with the Bulls, went before Judge Taylor during his first court appearance on sexual battery and false imprisonment charges. He received $120,000 bond.
And a tongue-lashing.
"If these allegations against you are true," said Taylor, " I must say that your behavior is nothing short of outrageous."
She continued. "I graduated from USF in 1989, long before there was a football team. And while USF may not be the top-ranked school in the nation, I was never ashamed of being an alum until now. I'm embarrassed and ashamed, Mr. Jackson. Let's just say my USF diploma is not proudly hanging in my office right now."
Then, the judge lit into Bulls' head coach Charlie Strong, who didn't attend the hearing.
"In the last couple of months there have been two arrests of your players for very violent felonies. (player Hassan Childs was recently arrested in connection with a violent road-rage incident)
" This court, and I'm sure I'm not alone, questions whether you have control over your players. It's fairly clear that you do not have control of them off the field. And I guess only time will tell whether you have control over them on the field. "
Strong responded in this written statement from the USF Athletic Department.
“In the short time I have been here our program has been built on character, discipline and family. We have wonderful young men in the USF football program who choose to do the right thing every day. We are dedicated to recruiting young men of high character, and to consistently developing them with structure and frequent education regarding appropriate conduct and behavior, on and off the playing field. While I am shocked and saddened at the recent arrest of a member of our team, I am disappointed that the actions of two players over the last two months have harmed the reputation of our program, of our wonderful university and of my character. We have high expectations of our coaches, staff and student-athletes and we hold accountable those who act contrary to our values.”