Man Sentenced To 12 Years For Drugging, Molesting 10-Year-Old

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man will spend 12 years in prison for drugging and molesting a 10-year-old girl during a sleepover.

A judge sentenced Ezra Taylor, 39, Tuesday morning after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

Taylor hosted a sleepover for his daughter and her two friends on Aug. 2, 2014. He told investigators he crushed up Ambien pills and put them in the girls' sodas. He then carried the victim downstairs and molested her in the middle of the night.

The next day, the parents of one of the girls contacted police to report that their daughter had been molested. The victim told a forensic investigator that while at her friend's house, she started to feel sick and dizzy, and vomited twice during the night.

Taylor then confessed to planning the assault to police officers.

Before the sentencing, the victim's mother gave a statement in court. She called Taylor a "monster." She said that "the world will never be as beautiful as it was before" and that "a child should not have to cry herself to sleep every night."

In Taylor's statement, he apologized to the victim's family and his own family. He told the judge he would accept whatever punishment was given.

In addition to the 12 years in prison, Taylor will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.