Brent E. Taylor, the former director of the Utah Valley Youth Symphony, was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing boys more than 20 years ago. Taylor, now 76, received a term of three years to life in the Utah State Prison for attempted sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony.
This sentence will run consecutively to another sentence of the same length for forcible sodomy, meaning he will spend at least six years in prison.
The abuse spanned from the 1980s to the early 2000s, with multiple adults coming forward to accuse Taylor. Four men spoke about their experiences with Taylor at his August sentencing in Utah County.
One of the victims, Jeff, reported that Taylor robbed him of 20 years of a life without fear and addiction. Jeff said Taylor moved into his Sandy neighborhood and initially offered him incentives, like an ATV, in exchange for sexual acts. The abuse was reported in 2005, but the police report was not sent to prosecutors. Jeff came forward again after seeing news coverage about sexual abuse from Larry Nasser, a youth gymnastics doctor, and his case was reopened.
Taylor pled guilty to attempting to abuse a child between 1984 and 1986 during Wednesday's hearing. He entered the plea as part of a deal that dismissed one charge of sodomy on a child and two charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Taylor retired in 2017 after over four decades with the Utah Valley Youth Symphony.
A Deseret News investigation in 2018 shared the stories of six men who reported Taylor's actions. Three former teenage employees of Taylor told the Deseret News that he either sexually abused them or inappropriately touched them years apart. The men gave detailed accounts of repeated sexual behavior with Taylor at his home, in his car, and across state lines between roughly 1985 and 2003. Another accuser filed a police report in 2011 alleging that his brother-in-law had been abused by Taylor as a youth.
https://www.ksl.com/article/51200913/ex-utah-county-youth-symphony-leader-sentenced-to-prison-in-2nd-sex-abuse-case
Commentary
In the above matter, the victims stated that the perpetrator abused them at the perpetrator's residence. For this and other reasons, child safe environments prohibit adults from hosting children in their residence or being with children in a different residence without other adults present.
According to the RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), the majority of sexual assaults occur at or near the victim's home. Specifically, 48 percent of victims were sleeping or performing another activity at home when the crime occurred.
The Children's Assessment Center reports that most sexual abuse of children occurs in a residence, typically that of the victim or perpetrator. Eighty-four percent of sexual victimization of children under age 12 occurs in a residence, and even older children are most likely to be assaulted in a residence, with 71 percent of sexual assaults on children ages 12 to 17 occurring in a residence.
The final takeaway is that the data underscores the importance of establishing standards that prevent adults being alone with children at a residence without permission and without other adults present.
Additional Sources: https://rainn.org/statistics/scope-problem and https://cachouston.org/prevention/child-sexual-abuse-facts/
