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PROVO — A Highland man accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl at his home during sleepovers with his daughter has been ordered to stand trial.
Daniel D. Taggart, one of the original co-founders of Ancestry.com, appeared in court briefly Tuesday and waived a preliminary hearing, allowing the case to be bound over for trial. He is set to be arraigned on Sept. 30.
Police say Taggart, 50, provided alcohol for his daughter and her 15-year-old friend at a sleepover last year, playing games with the girls and offering shot glasses and sex toys as prizes.
After the daughter had apparently fallen asleep, the 15-year-old told police Taggart turned on a pornographic video and sexually assaulted her, according to charging documents.
Related:
Website founder pleads not guilty in teen rape case
A former Ancestry.com executive pleaded not guilty Friday after being accused of sexually abusing his daughter's teenage friend in Utah.When the girl reportedly returned for a sleepover a month later, she claims Taggart again gave her alcohol and sexually assaulted her, the charges state.
Taggart was arrested earlier this year and charged with two counts of object rape, a first-degree felony; forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony; forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; two counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor, a third-degree felony; and two counts of supplying alcohol to a minor, a class A misdemeanor.
Taggart co-founded Ancestry.com in 1997, but is no longer with the company. He was the CEO of CubbyCode Inc. and Kringles Toys and Gifts at the time charges were filed, according to his profile on LinkedIn. He co-founded LDSAudio.com in September of 2003 and was CEO for a year. In 1990, he co-founded and ran Infobases Inc. for six years.
