RIPLEY, W.Va. — Jackson County Sheriff Tony Boggs struggled for words to describe what he and his deputies are handling with a call that came into the county’s 911 center early Monday morning.
“I don’t know that there’s words to describe this crime,” said Boggs. “From either aspect of what this little girl has endured to what kind of a person could do this.”
Authorities have charged Benjamin Taylor, 32, with first degree sexual assault. The victim was a nine-month-old baby girl.
“We’re adamantly convinced there was a sexual assault took place between a gentleman in his mid to late 20’s against a nine and a half month old baby girl,” Boggs said.
Taylor is the live-in boyfriend of the victim’s mother, according to Boggs. The mother awoke early Monday morning and couldn’t find Taylor or her daughter. She went looking and reportedly found them both in the basement of the apartment they shared at the Rolling Meadows Apartment complex in Fairplain. The child was reportedly covered in blood and unconscious.
“When EMS responded, the child was discovered as being what we would call unresponsive,” Boggs said.
Taylor was taken into custody and is jailed in lieu of $2 Million bond set by a Jackson County Magistrate. Boggs said it was likely Taylor would face additional charges, but wouldn’t comment on what those would be. The sheriff also refused to comment on whether drugs were involved in the crime or on the child’s present condition.
“I truly don’t think we can comprehend, even after being involved and seeing it and dealing with it, it’s pretty much unfathomable,” Boggs said. “There’s not words in my vocabulary that can describe this.”