Martell Taylor Charged In Sexual Assault Of 8-Year-Old Child, Mother Was "Running Errands" And Left Boy With Predatory Offender...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Who leaves their 8-year-old son in the care of a "friend" who just happens to have a previous conviction for sexually assaulting a male child? Oh, and this "friend" lists his permanent address as a homeless shelter?

Well, according to KARE-11, that's just what some mother did while leaving to run "errands." Of course, KARE-11 didn't quite word it that way.

Looking up Taylor on the jail roster, I see he lists...

...his address as 1010 Currie Ave. S. This is a shelter and the address comes up repeatedly in the jail roster, so often I suspect some people use this address to avoid being linked to some OTHER address and, well, I've written before about how easy it is to get away with this kind of thing at the jail.

Here is Taylor's online "rap sheet," not all of which may be convictions, but some of them are:

27-CR-07-028302
TAYLOR, MARTELL
12/09/1985
05/03/2007
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Theft-Take/Use/Transfer Movable Prop-No Consent
Give Peace Officer False Name/Birthdate/ID Card

27-CR-07-121446
TAYLOR, MARTELL
12/09/1985
11/02/2007
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Under Court Jurisdiction
Obstruct Legal Process or Arrest
Fleeing, Other Than Vehicle

27-CR-07-128102
Taylor, Martell Maurice
12/09/1985
12/13/2007
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Theft-Take/Use/Transfer Movable Prop-No Consent

27-CR-08-18384
TAYLOR, MARTELL
12/09/1985
04/14/2008
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Scherer, Richard S.
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Failure to Register as a Predatory Offender

27-CR-08-24902
1080991274
1080991274
1080991274
Taylor, Martell Maurice
12/09/1985
05/20/2008
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Trespassing
Loiter with intent to solicit any act prohibited by law
Possession of drug paraphernalia in a public place.

27-CR-09-2116
TAYLOR, MARTELL
12/09/1985
01/13/2009
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Mabley, Daniel H.
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Under Court Jurisdiction
Aggravated Robbery-2nd Degree

27-CR-09-52753
TAYLOR, MARTELL
12/09/1985
10/16/2009
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Under Court Jurisdiction
Theft over $1000-Felony

27-CR-12-7764
272612002222
Taylor, Martell Maurice
12/09/1985
03/14/2012
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Ridgedale
Hedlund, Deborah
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Under Court Jurisdiction
Theft-Take/Use/Transfer movable property without consent

I should note, also, the jail roster lists "No Middle Name" for this guy, but one of his court records lists "Maurice."

A charge of failure to register as a predatory offender is listed, but no actual conviction is listed fitting that category. Perhaps it happened in another state.

Predators 1, Millions Of Years Of Maternal Instinct, 0.

ADDENDUM, June 21, 2012. 


I have a copy of the criminal complaint now, and rather than writing a new blog post I'm just going to add it to this one. Everything below is an allegation, not yet legally proven.

Complainant is Gregory L. Reinhart

(...) (O)n June 6, 2012 officers were dispatched to a known address in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, to investigate the sexual assault of a child. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the child's mother, hereinafter parent.

Parent reported that she is acquainted with Martell Taylor, hereinafter defendant. Parent reported she asked defendant to watch her 8-year-old son, hereinafter victim, while she ran errands in downtown Minneapolis. Parent reported defendant had custody of victim for several hours. Parent reported that victim subsequently disclosed to her that defendant had sexually assaulted her (sic) by placing his penis in the child's buttocks and making him feel his penis.

(JNS inserts: Oh, my word, what a mess that last sentence is. It blatantly violates rules about pronouns. "Making him feel his penis"? Are you SERIOUS? Also, it's clear from other media coverage and from elsewhere in the report the victim is a MALE, and yet the pronoun "her" is used. This is not the first time I've seen this kind of mistake-filled writing in Hennepin County criminal complaints. Somebody in officialdom needs a proofreader. Sorry to be so harsh, but there's no excuse for this and it gives defense attorneys an opening)

The victim was transported to the hospital for a sexual assault exam. The victim was also taken to Corner House for a forensic interview. During the interview, the victim disclosed that the defendant took him to a restroom at the Salvation Army located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and sexually assaulted him. The victim reported the defendant placed his penis in his buttocks and hurt him. The victim reported that yellow fluid ran down his leg after this occurred. The victim also reported the defendant asked the victim to touch his penis.

(JNS asks: WHOSE penis? Was the victim asked to touch HIS OWN penis for the gratification of the alleged abuser? Or was the victim asked to touch the abuser's penis? IT'S NOT FUCKING CLEAR, is it? This is what happens when somebody who has no concept of "pronoun agreement" is put in the position of writing important documents)

Officers located and spoke with the defendant. The defendant admitted he had custody of the victim on the day in question and that he took the victim to the Salvation Army. The defendant also admitted he took the victim into the bathroom while at the Salvation Army. Officers confirmed the defendant's date of birth is December 9, 1985 and that he is more than 36 months older than the victim.

A check into the defendant's record revealed he has a prior conviction for sexually assaulting a male child. At present, the defendant is in custody.