Ex-Roy teacher faces 6 counts

ROY — A former Roy Junior High School shop teacher has been charged with six felonies after he was accused of having sex with a student.

Kenneth William Taylor, 46, engaged in sexual relationship for at least two years with a girl who is now 17, said Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham.

"We know when the last (sexual) contact was; we don't know for sure when the first contact was," the chief said. "At least some of the conduct that we know about occurred on the school premises."

Police launched an investigation into Taylor's alleged actions on Aug. 31 after someone approached them with their suspicions about an inappropriate teacher/student relationship. Taylor was placed on administrative leave the following day, and then resigned three days later, Weber School District spokesman Nate Taggart said.

Taylor had taught at Roy Junior High since 2004.

Whinham said Taylor "groomed" his alleged victim over a period of time before the alleged sexual activity took place. He communicated with the girl through text messages, e-mails and personal contact, the chief said — a pattern law enforcement sees in many cases of child sex abuse.

"(Victims) get into a reality that is created fictitiously by a master manipulator," the chief said.

News of the charges against Taylor comes two days after police in Layton completed an investigation into a Layton High choir teacher who married a recently graduated student, and after police in Ogden launched an investigation into an Ogden High teacher who is living with a former student.

In the Layton case, Joseph Everton, 62, was cleared of any criminal conduct. But police stated clearly that Everton's relationship with his former student, now 18, was inappropriate.

A teacher at Layton High since 1981, Everton remains on administrative leave as the Davis School District conducts its own investigation into the incident.

Ogden police and the Ogden City School District have not named the 47-year-old teacher at the center of their investigation. Both entities are looking into whether the man, who is on administrative leave, engaged in sexual activity with a former student when she was a minor.

No charges have been filed in the Ogden case.

Weber County Attorney Dee Smith said Wednesday that Taylor has been charged with six counts of unlawful sexual activity with a 16- or 17-year-old. The charges are third-degree felonies.

Taylor, who police said has cooperated with their investigation, has not been booked into jail. He will be issued a summons to appear in court once a hearing date is set.

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