Retired music teacher and preacher found guilty of child sex crimes, MS officials say
A former music teacher and preacher faces life in prison after he was found guilty on sex crime charges, Mississippi prosecutors say.
A jury convicted 52-year-old Samuel Lamar Taylor on Wednesday, Sept. 20, on one count of sexual battery and one count of gratification of lust, Rankin County District Attorney Bubba Bramlett said.
He could spend a maximum 15 years behind bars for the latter charge, plus the possibility of a life sentence, according to prosecutors.
Taylor, who taught for more than 25 years at schools across Mississippi, retired from Richland Upper Elementary School in 2020, Bramlett said. He was also a minister at various churches in Rankin County for more than 40 years.
Richland Upper Elementary School officials contacted police Aug. 23, 2022, after an 11-year-old child, who has autism, told a counselor he was being sexually abused, according to the district attorney’s office. The child identified Taylor, who was his legal guardian at the time, officials said.
Investigators said the boy recalled “specific details” about the abuse he suffered at Taylor’s home from 2020 to 2022 and was quickly removed from his custody.
Authorities also interviewed a second person who officials said accused Taylor of sexually abusing him from 1990 to 1991 when Taylor worked as a YMCA counselor in nearby Jackson.
“Because of this brave child victim and each of these agencies, Sam Taylor’s 30-year-old secret was finally brought to light,” Bramlett said in a statement. “While these acts are ones no person should ever endure, especially a child, we hope this conviction brings closure to the victim, his family, and any other victim Taylor’s actions affected.”
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13.
Richland is less than 10 miles south of downtown Jackson.