Deal made in case of sex abuse at boys home

Kim Smith

Friday, June 1, 2001 | 10:52 a.m.

A Las Vegas man accused of sexually abusing five boys at a state-run home for emotionally handicapped children has accepted a deal.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Teresa Lowry said Rick Taylor was to appear before District Judge Joseph Bonaventure today.

Taylor, 37, did not enter the type of plea agreement where a defendant admits his guilt, but he was expected to admit that the state has enough evidence to convict him of four counts of attempted lewdness with a child, one count of attempted sexual assault and one count of felony open and gross lewdness, Lowry said.

The plea agreement states that if a psychologist finds that Taylor is not a danger or menace to society he will be placed on five years probation and receive lifetime supervision, Lowry said. He will also be prohibited from getting any jobs that involve children during the length of his probation.

If Taylor should violate that probation, he would then be sentenced to eight to 24 years in prison, Lowry said.

If the psychologist believes Taylor is a danger to society, Taylor can withdraw from the plea agreement and go to trial on the 18 counts he originally faced, Lowry said.

Lowry said the deal was offered because of the extreme emotional distress the alleged victims are going through already and what they would have to endure if the case proceeded to trial.

"We're talking about a defendant who targeted the most vulnerable of the vulnerable," Lowry said. "These boys ran the gamut from the emotionally handicapped to the near autistic."

Taylor worked at the Oasis Residential Treatment Center, 6171 W. Charleston Blvd., from July 1998 until June 2000. During that time, authorities allege, he abused five boys between 9 and 15.

A staff member at the facility called police when one of the boys said Taylor made advances toward him while he was taking a bath.

According to state records, Taylor was a teaching parent at one of seven on-campus treatment homes. Teaching parents are responsible for, among other things, teaching, training and supervising children in self-care skills, social skills and academic skills.