Police interview at heart of trial

COEUR d'ALENE - The trial of Daniel Taylor, a former public high school teacher in Coeur d'Alene accused of sex crimes involving a child, concluded with closing arguments Tuesday.

Now, a jury of seven women and five men must determine if Taylor, 32, is guilty of one felony count of lewd conduct with a child under 16. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

The charge against Taylor stems from an incident in which he and his alleged victim were taking a shower together in the fall of 2012. Taylor is accused of raping the 5-year-old child on that occasion. The child told detectives of two other instances of alleged sexual abuse, beginning in January 2011.

Prosecutor Art Verharen focused the majority of his closing argument on discrediting Taylor's assertion that he was under emotional distress and falsely admitted to the crime in an interview with a Coeur d'Alene Police Department detective prior to his arrest.

"Mr. Taylor is a very educated, highly intelligent, big strapping man," Verharen said. "And with all these qualities in mind, he's telling you this unassuming detective questioned him in such a manner that it caused emotional distress?"

The attorney then attempted to play three video clips from Taylor's interview at the police station. When Verharen couldn't get the picture to work, it was Taylor who calmly said, "You gotta take the cover off."

Taylor's attention rarely left the projector screen as the three clips, which focused on his admission of guilt and describing the acts, played for the jury. When the clips concluded, Verharen called Taylor's claim of emotional distress "hollow."

"These are not things that the detective made him say," Verharen said. "These are things that he did and this claim of extreme emotional distress falls flat. You can really come to no other conclusion here except that what he said he did, he did."

Defense attorney Rick Baughman began his closing arguments by focusing on the alleged victim's mother - a compulsive liar, he said, who uses her children as tools and weapons. He mentioned several incidents where, he claimed, she coached her children in order to make allegations against someone.

Baughman then called into question the timing of the woman's report, claiming she waited four days after she learned of the alleged conduct and then contacted a therapist required to report allegations of sexual abuse to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

"Why did (she) hold this information and let it be reported by H and W?" Baughman asked the jury. "The first place you're going when you learn this information is to the phone to call the police."

Taylor's attorney then spoke of the police station interview, and told the jury it's "damned important that you understand this was an interrogation and understand the psychological impact of this interrogation."

Baughman said Taylor, who voluntarily went to the police station, had never been in a situation where he was interviewed by police and called attention to the amount of times his client denied the allegations. Taylor only admitted to the offense, Baughman added, because he was told if he wasn't honest with the detective he would never see his own kids again.

"Even at the very end (of the interview) what does Dan say - 'Everything I've told you is still very hazy.' She (the detective) kept hammering and hammering, tightening and tightening," Baughman said. "He gave up. Imagine the heart-wrenching feeling of being put in this situation thinking you're never going to see your kids again."

After leaving the police station, Baughman said, his client did two things - called his mother and then called a "head shrink" because "he thought he was going nuts."

"He walks into the cop shop to be interrogated by a trained detective," Baughman said. "He goes into the wolves den and incidentally lays himself up for crucifying."

Taylor resigned from his position with the Coeur d'Alene School District in March of 2014. The alleged incident did not involve a student or take place on school grounds.

The jury began deliberation just before noon on Tuesday, and did not make a decision by its 5 p.m. deadline. Deliberation resumed on Wednesday morning in the Juvenile Justice Building.