JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI (July 12, 2018) A Jefferson City man, Robert Taylor, 33, was sentenced to fifteen years on enticement of a child, fifteen years on sodomy in the second degree and fifteen years on rape in the second degree. A Cole County jury found Taylor guilty of the charges on May 2, 2018, following a three-day jury trial. Judge Patricia Joyce presided over the case and decided Taylor’s sentence. Per statute, the fifteen year sentences for rape and sodomy will run consecutive to one another, for a total of thirty years.
Taylor was charged in September of 2015. The charges stem from text messages from the defendant found on the child victim’s phone requesting sexual acts. Further investigation lead to disclosures from the child victim of acts of rape and sodomy.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Meghan E. Woolery and Kristin Mengwasser tried the case for the State. The attorneys express gratitude to the many people who helped bring this case to trial, including the child victim and child victim’s family, who have been diligent and patient on the long road to justice, and Detective Jon Kempker of the Jefferson City Police Department, who investigated the case. A pivotal member of the prosecution team is Christina Binkley, one of the office’s victim advocates, who has been working with the family of the victim from the onset of charges. Above all, the attorneys are thankful to the jurors for their attentiveness in listening to difficult evidence and reaching a just verdict.
