By Nicole Gonzales
WOODLAND – The Taylor Gholar sexual predator trial resumed Wednesday here in Yolo County Superior Court, with the alleged victim’s stepfather taking the stand to testify about the messages sent to his daughter from the 28-year-old defendant.
Gholar. a West Sacramento school worker, is accused of sending sexually explicit photos and arranging to have sex with a 12-year-old student. Gholar has been on trial for the past several days.
The victim’s stepfather testified about messages between his stepdaughter, himself, and Gholar through the social media platform Instagram. The text conversations took place from January 19-20 of this year.
He and his wife claimed they used the young victim’s Instagram account to message Gholar on her behalf, once they became concerned with the nature of his messages. Gholar was under the impression he was messaging the 12-year-old student.
Through his stepdaughter’s Instagram account, the minor’s stepfather asked Gholar, “What makes me so special?” to which the defendant responded “because you was with it… you was so innocent and 
adorable.”
Once the defendant had continuously shown sexual/romantic interest in the minor through flirting and conversation, the stepfather posing as the young girl asked, “Are you going to try and have sex with me?”
The defendant responded, “You want me to?”
The defendant attempted to obtain the minor’s Snapchat username, saying they should use that platform to continue messaging. Once he was informed her mother had access to her Snapchat account, he declined and insisted on using Instagram.
The parents contacted police and continued messaging Gholar.
Allegedly, the defendant had attempted to initiate a meeting, saying he would pick the minor up from her friend’s house. This, however, did not happen.
According to the stepfather, Gholar then pressed him, posing as the minor, to send sexually explicit pictures to him. He messaged the minor asking for pictures of her breasts.
At this point, the parents had been in contact with the West Sacramento Police Department for one day. Officers were then dispatched once a meeting between Gholar and the minor had been arranged on January 20 at 2 a.m.
Deputy District Attorney Sara Abrate then presented police body cam footage as evidence of the conversations between Gholar and the student, because the original messages were deleted. In the footage, the victim’s stepfather verbally read the messages with his wife and the two officers present.
Through the body camera, one of the officers recorded the parents messaging the defendant through their daughter’s Instagram account. The defendant agreed to meet the minor at a fast food restaurant near her house late at night, once her parents were asleep.
Prior to the meeting, the defendant sent the minor a picture of his genitalia. This was witnessed and recorded by the officers and both of the minor’s parents.
Gholar allegedly arranged to meet the student at the fast food restaurant for a sexual encounter. The officers left the family’s house and then confirmed they had Gholar in custody.
This was the end of the body cam footage and the stepfather’s testimony. The judge then stated the trial would resume Thursday.
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