A Texas man was sentenced to life in prison after authorities said he continued to sexually abuse a child — who he is alleged to have abused previously — while he was in jail awaiting a murder trial.
Anthony Dewayne Taylor, 46, of Frisco, was sentenced on a charge of sexual performance of a child, the Collin County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release issued on Wednesday, February 11.
Taylor is accused of abusing a minor victim beginning when she was 14 until she was 16, according to prosecutors.
“After being paroled on a drug trafficking charge from Oklahoma in 2020, Taylor reconnected with the victim’s family and gained access to the child,” the district attorney’s office said.
He allegedly abused her in multiple states and multiple Texas cities, according to prosecutors.
In October 2022, Taylor, described as “a career criminal and confirmed gang member,” was arrested on a murder charge in connection with a killing in Oklahoma City, the district attorney’s office said.
Ahead of his murder trial, Taylor repeatedly called the girl he previously abused from behind bars, according to prosecutors.
These phone calls were being recorded, the district attorney’s office said.
Over the phone, Taylor told the girl to “engage in lewd acts while the child was living in Collin County, leading to the sexual performance charges,” according to the district attorney’s office.
In December 2022 — two years before Taylor ultimately pleaded guilty to murder in December 2024 and was handed a 10-year prison sentence — the girl spoke out about the abuse, the district attorney’s office said.
She “bravely” opened up about the abuse, resulting in her family alerting the Frisco Police Department.
Taylor’s defense attorney, John B. Setterberg, declined Us Weekly’s request for comment on Wednesday, February 11. It was not immediately clear who represented Taylor in his murder case.
According to the district attorney’s office, the child detailed the alleged abuse she experienced from Taylor, including over the phone, in an interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County.
Then a Frisco police detective, Kim Pruitt, discovered evidence corroborating what the girl shared when she visited Taylor’s home, the district attorney’s office said. Pruitt also got ahold of the recorded jail calls with the help of the Oklahoma City Police Department.
A Collin County jury ultimately convicted Taylor of sexual performance of a child at trial, which began on January 20, according to prosecutors and court records viewed by Us.
Taylor had been facing a sentence of five to 99 years in prison, or life in prison, the district attorney’s office said.
The jury decided a life sentence was appropriate, according to prosecutors.
“This convicted murderer continued to prey on a child even from behind bars,” District Attorney Greg Willis said in a statement. “A Collin County jury saw the full picture and delivered the only sentence that protects the public and our children – life in prison.”
Taylor has since filed an appeal in his case, court records show.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
