Maryland Court Reverses Deaf Sex Conviction

WATCH: Deaf News: Court reverses conviction of man accused of sexual abuse at Maryland School for the Deaf.

FREDERICK, MD -- The state's second-highest court reversed the conviction of a Deaf man accused of sexually abusing two girls at the Maryland School for the Deaf because he wasn't able to question the interpreter's translation of his responses during a police interrogation.

The Court of Special Appeals said Clarence Cepheus Taylor III, 40, was denied his constitutional right to confront and cross-examine the interpreter during his trial in Howard County Circuit Court in November 2013, the opinion said. Taylor said an interpreter who translated during his five-hour interrogation with a Howard County police detective had incorrectly interpreted his sign-language statements.

"It becomes kind of a game of telephone. A lot can be lost in those steps," said Taylor's attorney, Brandon Mead. He said Taylor's family has suffered, and his client has maintained his innocence.

Howard County state's attorney's office spokesman T. Wayne Kirwan said the office intends to appeal.

Taylor, who worked as a school aide, was sentenced to seven years in February 2014 after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl at the Columbia campus.

Read The Full Story

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Maryland Court Reverses Deaf Sex Conviction

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Verdict In Maryland Deaf School Sex Abuse Case

Deaf News: Clarence Taylor III found guilty of sex abuse at Maryland School for the Deaf.

FREDERICK, Maryland -- A Howard County Circuit Court jury in the Maryland School for the Deaf sex abuse case handed down a mixed result Wedneday, finding the defendant guilty of two charges of child sexual abuse, not guilty of one count and declaring a mistrial in the four remaining counts.

Clarence Cepheus Taylor III, 38, was found guilty by the 12-member jury, who began deliberations Friday, of groping two girls while working as an aide at the school from 2008 to 2011.

Taylor, who is Deaf, had his bond revoked by Judge William Tucker and is scheduled to be sentenced on the two guilty verdicts on Jan. 31, 2014, with a retrial on the four non-decision counts scheduled for May 21, 2014.

A split verdict is reached by jurors and a mistrial is declared by the judge for some charges in the Howard County sexual abuse trial of a former aide for the Maryland School for the Deaf. Barry Simms files this report on 11 News at Noon.

Earlier in the trial, three counts of solicitation of child pornography were dropped by the State's Attorney's office after the prosecution could not prove the events happened in Howard County.

Those charges accused Taylor of text messaging three of the students and requesting pictures of their breasts, according to the prosecution.

Taylor faces a maximum of 50 years in prison 25 years for each guilty count. According to prosecutor and Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Broten, the state's recommendations for such convictions usually fall between seven and 13 years per count.

As Taylor was handcuffed after his bond was revoked, his wife, who is on leave from her employment at the school, left the courtroom fighthing tears.

A split verdict was reached in the sexual abuse trial of a former aide for the Maryland School for the Deaf, prompting the Howard County judge to call a mistrial for some charges.

Taylor's defense attorney, Brandon Mead, said he recommended Taylor file an appeal, citing Tucker's jury instructions... Read The Full Story.

Related:
Verdict In Maryland Deaf School Sex Abuse Case
Maryland School For The Deaf Abuse Sex Case
Courtroom Sign Language Prohibited Raise Concerns
Deaf Aide Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse
Maryland Court Reverses Deaf Sex Conviction

Courtroom Sign Language Prohibited Raise Concerns

Maryland courtroom sign language restrictions raise concerns, only the official interpreters and trial participants are allowed to use ASL.

FREDERICK, MD -- A judge in the trial of a Deaf man is prohibiting signing among the audience, a move that has raised concerns among some in the Deaf community.

Clarence Taylor III, who is Deaf, is accused of inappropriately touching Maryland School for the Deaf students when he was a student life counselor and dormitory aide at the school's Columbia campus. MSD also has a campus in Frederick.

Judge William Tucker of Howard County Circuit Court prohibited signs and "facial gestures" among spectators at Taylor's trial, according to a report from Capital News Service.

Only the four official courtroom interpreters and trial participants communicating with them will be allowed to sign and gesture in the courtroom.

Some advocates for the Deaf took issue with the way the decision singled out American Sign Language.

Howard A. Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf, said in a statement that the NAD understands the need to preserve order in the courtroom, but any restriction on communication needs to be applied evenly in any language to all spectators.

"The judge's order in this case appears to impose restrictions solely on Deaf and Hard of Hearing spectators and is unacceptable," he said.

David Martin, an assistant professor who manages ASL studies at Frederick Community College, is an MSD alumnus and has been following the trial.

He said that it would be difficult for a Deaf person to avoid making gestures.

“From my perspective, you know, with a Deaf person, It's going to be a challenge for a Deaf person to have no expressions and no signing,” Martin said through an ASL interpreter.

Still, Martin said the judge's decision was fair as long as hearing people were subject to the same restrictions... Read The Full Story.

Related:
Verdict In Maryland Deaf School Sex Abuse Case
Maryland School For The Deaf Abuse Sex Case
Courtroom Sign Language Prohibited Raise Concerns
Deaf Aide Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse
Maryland Court Reverses Deaf Sex Conviction

Maryland School For The Deaf Sex Abuse Case

Deaf News: Jury selection starts for Maryland School for the Deaf case.

FREDERICK, Maryland -- Jury selection has begun in Ellicott City for the trial of a former Maryland School for the Deaf dormitory aide charged with sexually abusing seven female students in Columbia.

Thirty-eight-year-old Clarence Taylor III of Gwynn Oak pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday before the selection process began.

Howard County Circuit Judge William Tucker says 12 jurors and three alternates will be seated Tuesday before lawyers make opening statements.

Taylor is accused of molesting students from 2008 to 2011. The alleged victims were in the fourth through eighth grades. Taylor allegedly kissed, hugged and fondled the girls during their overnight stays at the school.

He faces seven counts of sex abuse of a minor and three counts of soliciting a subject for child pornography... Read The Full Story.

Related:
Verdict In Maryland Deaf School Sex Abuse Case
Maryland School For The Deaf Abuse Sex Case
Courtroom Sign Language Prohibited Raise Concerns
Deaf Aide Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse
Maryland Court Reverses Deaf Sex Conviction

Deaf Aide Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse

An aide teacher Clarence Taylor charged with sexual abuse at Maryland School for the Deaf.

FREDERICK, Maryland -- Charges allege he molested girls at school in Columbia, Maryland. An aide at the Maryland School for the Deaf was arrested and charged Thursday with multiple counts of sexual abuse after being accused of touching three students between 2008 and 2010.

Howard County Police say that Clarence Cepheus Taylor, a 37-year-old Windsor Mill, Md. resident, inappropriately touched three girls while working as an evening-shift dorm aide at the Columbia school for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Students, who are now aged 15 and 16, have come forward with allegations of abuse, and investigators believe there may be more victims. Read The Full Story.

Related:
Verdict In Maryland Deaf School Sex Abuse Case
Maryland School For The Deaf Abuse Sex Case
Courtroom Sign Language Prohibited Raise Concerns
Deaf Aide Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse
Maryland Court Reverses Deaf Sex Conviction