FRISCO, Texas - A convicted murderer was sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing a child while in jail, according to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office.
What we know:
District Attorney Greg Willis said a Collin County jury recently found 46-year-old Anthony Taylor of Frisco guilty of the sexual performance of a child.
He was then sentenced to life in prison for that crime.
What they're saying:
Willis called Taylor a career criminal and known gang member who sexually abused a teenage girl across multiple state lines. That abuse continued even while he was serving time for a murder conviction.
"This convicted murderer continued to prey on a child even from behind bars. A Collin County jury saw the full picture and delivered the only sentence that protects the public and our children - life in prison," Willis said.
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The backstory:
According to prosecutors, the abuse began in 2020 after Taylor was released from an Oklahoma prison on parole following a drug trafficking conviction.
He gained access to the girl through his connections with her family. She was 14 at the time and the abuse continued across multiple cities and states for two years.
In 2022, Taylor was arrested for murder in Oklahoma City. While in jail awaiting trial, prosecutors said he called his victim multiple times using a jail phone.
Taylor directed the girl to engage in lewd acts over the phone, leading to the sexual performances charges.
Taylor’s victim told her family about the ongoing abuse in December 2022, and the Frisco Police Department began investigating. Detectives obtained recordings of the jailhouse calls, which were used as evidence in the trial.
Dig deeper:
Taylor ultimately pleaded guilty to the Oklahoma City murder in 2024 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Jurors in the child sex abuse case heard testimony about Taylor’s past criminal history, including the Oklahoma drug and murder convictions, before deciding to sentence him to life in prison.
The Source: The information in this story comes from a news release from the Collin County District Attorney's Office.