SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — A crowd gathered Tuesday to protest what they said is a family of predators in Sacramento County.
A man was arrested Monday and was behind bars at a Yolo County jail. He was identified by supporters of his alleged victim as Taylor Lewis Gholar.
“I’m concerned about our babies,” said community activist Ava Nadal.
The 28-year-old was picked up by officers in West Sacramento on Monday during a traffic stop just before 3 a.m.
Gholar was arrested for what police say was violating the trust of a child — a 12-year-old girl — through sexual assault. He was booked on suspicion of annoying or molesting a minor, arranging to meet a minor for sexual interest, sending child pornography and sending lewd matter to a minor.
Part of that happened through text messages, according to those who know the pre-teen involved. Berry Accius with Voice of the Youth told FOX40 he had over 200 text messages that the family shared with him.
“You saw the grooming, you saw the finessing,” Accius said. “It just got worse and worse.”
Accius also explained how Gholar knew the girl.
“They knew each other before when she was in second grade,” he said. “The access that they got was probably via social media. So it was a former coach, former teacher.”
Gholar’s father, Laureate Baldwin Gholar, has worked at Slams BBQ in Sacramento where protesters chose to gather. He was convicted of sexual penetration of a minor with a foreign object back in 2015.
Given his history, people who gathered said they felt the elder Gholar should never have been employed near children or be in close contact with them. There is a charter school at the end of the strip mall from the restaurant.
“They have to go. This is my community,” Nadal said.
Taylor Gholar worked for the Rose Family Creative Empowerment Center, which runs after school programs for the Sacramento City Unified School District. Managers there could not clarify what years he was there, if he was an employee or a volunteer, or exactly what he did.
In a statement, the SCUSD said even though he was not a district employee they “are extremely disturbed by these allegations and are working closely with law enforcement on this matter. The safety and security of our students continues to be a top priority.”
