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AMERICAN FORK — The jury trial for a former director of the Utah Valley Youth Symphony accused of sexually abusing a musician will be delayed partly due to the man's poor health.
Brent E. Taylor, 74, is accused of abusing a teenage musician in Utah County between 2002 and 2006 while he was at the helm of the prestigious organization that has toured within the United States and abroad. He is charged with one count of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony.
Several men, including former neighbors of Taylor and former musicians and employees of the symphony, spoke to the Deseret News in 2018 and accused the former music director of multiple incidents of sexual misconduct between 1985 and 2003. Days after the story was published, a former teenage musician not involved in the news story came forward and told investigators about repeated sexual encounters he allegedly had with Taylor during the man's high school years. Criminal charges for the alleged abuse were filed in November 2018.
The case was scheduled to go to trial on April 11, but in a hearing on March 23, Taylor's attorney Cara Tangaro asked for the trial to be delayed. She said she has a conflict with a trial for a client who is in prison, which is prioritized, and that Taylor's health is not good enough for him to be able to communicate with her or participate in his trial.
Tangaro also provided a letter and pictures detailing a recent hospital stay for her client. She further told the judge that Taylor is dying and his mind is not well.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Julia Thomas argued against moving the trial, noting that the letter Tangaro showed to support that her client did not indicate any life-threatening conditions. Still, she said understood that there was likely nothing that could be done about Tangaro having a conflicting trial for an incarcerated client.
Fourth District Judge Roger Griffin expressed concern that Taylor is either playing the system or playing his attorney, and said that he wants to get the trial done before Taylor's health deteriorates further.
"This is a frustrating case because it's four years old and we need to get to trial," Griffin said.
The judge scheduled a second hearing for Tuesday before officially delaying the trial. Currently, new dates for the trial are not set.
In a second criminal case filed in West Jordan, Taylor is facing two counts of sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony, and two counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child. A jury trial in that case is scheduled for May.
