Former Granite School District employee arrested and charged with sexually abusing child relative

This post contains graphic details relating to child sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — A former Granite School District employee was arrested and charged for allegedly sexually abusing a child relative in 2020.

Jonathan Taylor Cox, 30, is charged with 15 first-degree felonies: three counts of rape of a child, three counts of sodomy upon a child, and nine counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

According to the charging documents, the victim, now a teenager, reported the abuse to Taylorsville Police and stated that the abuse happened in 2020. The victim is a minor family member of Cox, and every Sunday, the victim would visit the home where Cox lived with their family.

Allegedly, Cox would take the victim to his bedroom in the basement. The abuse began when he showed the victim “inappropriate anime with naked people,” according to the victim’s statement to police, and eventually, he escalated to touching the victim’s genitals and forcing them to touch his.

The victim told police that they went along with the abuse because they trusted Cox. Allegedly, Cox would also bribe the victim with Pokémon or Nintendo to get them to comply.

Later, Cox left for his mission, and the victim told police that they hoped he would change while he was gone. When he returned, about a year ago, he allegedly took the victim into his bathroom, hugged them, and touched the victim’s stomach under their shirt.

Cox allegedly admitted to police that there were times he would be alone with the victim in his bedroom. He said that he would let the victim play his Gameboy or Nintendo DS, and they would “cuddle.”

He also reportedly admitted to holding the victim “closer than he should have,” said that the victim “may have” touched his genitals, and said that he put his hand down the victim’s pants several times. He told the police that the victim was “curious” about his body and genitals and that he was “curious” about the victim’s. He reportedly explained sex to the victim while touching them.

According to charging documents, Cox confirmed that this happened before he went on his mission, when he was in his 20s.

Granite School District confirmed to ABC4 that an individual by that name was employed by the school district from January 23, 2019 to December 9, 2021. The school district stated that he worked in a few different hourly roles during that time: as an instructional assistant, a paraeducator (an aide who works under the supervision of a certified teacher to provide support), and a substitute.

The school district also confirmed that he worked as a volunteer coach from August 8, 2017 until December 9, 2021. Reportedly, Cox voluntarily resigned in December 2021.

Cox was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on August 15, where he is being held without bail. He has his preliminary hearing scheduled on October 28.