Man Molested Several Teen Musicians; Pleaded Guilty after Several Victims Reported Molestation and Sexual Torture in Utah
Brent E. Taylor, the former leader of a youth symphony, has pleaded guilty to a serious charge. He admitted to engaging in sexual acts with a teenage boy approximately two decades ago.
The plea follows his arrest at the beginning of his own jury trial, which the court intended to proceed with, regardless of his presence.
After nearly six years since the charges were first filed against him, there have been numerous delays, some of which were caused by his health issues and failure to appear in court as required.
Charges in two separate criminal cases have been filed against Taylor after a thorough investigation by Deseret News. The investigation revealed that three former employees of the Utah Valley Youth Symphony have accused Taylor of either sexually abusing them or inappropriately touching them during their teenage years.
Taylor, the executive director of the symphony, retired in 2017 after an impressive 44-year tenure with the group.
Allegations have been made against him involving inappropriate conduct with a teenage musician in Utah County from 2002 to 2006, as well as the abuse of a former employee and another boy in Sandy during the mid-1980s, when the boys were 12 and 13 years old. Three additional individuals came forward with accusations of abuse and lewd behavior against him.
Taylor’s criminal charges in Salt Lake County are still pending. The charges include two counts of sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony, and two counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.
Taylor, 76, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday as part of a plea agreement that resulted in a change to his charge from forcible sodomy to attempted forcible sodomy. He confessed to trying to engage in sexual acts with an individual over 14 years old in either 2004 or 2005.
The trial for his case was set to take place this week. Attorneys had started the process of selecting jurors and had made necessary arrangements for instructions to jurors in case Taylor was absent from the trial. They also made arrangements regarding his attire if he chose to attend.
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In May, the judge made a ruling stating that the trial would continue, regardless of Taylor’s presence. Both his attorneys and prosecutors claimed to have made extensive efforts to find him, but were unsuccessful.
Despite repeatedly missing hearings, Taylor’s warrant was finally recalled on Tuesday when it was discovered that he had been arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail. His sentencing is set for August 28th as reported by KSL News.
In the autumn of 2023, Taylor consistently failed to attend virtual court hearings. According to his attorney, he faced difficulties attending virtual hearings independently following the passing of his nurse.
In a recent development, Judge Roger Griffin of the 4th District made a decision based on medical reports. It was found that Taylor had been exaggerating his health issues as a means to postpone his case. As a result, the judge ordered him to surrender himself to the jail. During that period, Taylor resided in Colorado, but when charges were filed in 2018, he had relocated to Provo.
