Ex-York police officer accused of child abuse seeks more lenient bond

The former York police officer free on bond after being charged with child abuse, in what prosecutors say is a shaken baby case, wants contact with the baby’s mother, another police officer charged with neglect in the same case.

Robert Jeffrey Taylor Jr., 45, faces up to 30 years in prison on charges stemming from what prosecutors called “horrible” injuries to his son. He wants to be able to work, attend church and leave his parents’ home, where he is under house arrest and GPS monitoring. He also wants to be able to see Audrey Schurig, the baby’s mother.

Schurig faces child neglect charges stemming from the February injuries to their son, but only Taylor is accused of physically harming Jaxon, who was born in November.

“It is the desire of the defendant, Robert Jeffrey Taylor, and the co-defendant, Audrey Schurig, that they be allowed to have contact,” Taylor’s lawyer, Jim Boyd, wrote in a court filing.

Boyd declined to say why Taylor and Schurig want to be together. A March 25 bond condition forbids Taylor from having contact with Schurig or the baby. The couple is not married but lived together before their arrests.

Taylor will not ask for visitation privileges with the baby, Boyd said.

A hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday in front of Circuit Court Judge John C. Hayes III, who set the original release conditions last month.

Taylor, through Boyd, has denied wrongdoing and vowed to fight the allegations.

Schurig’s bond allows her to have supervised visitation with Jaxon, who is in the custody of the state Department of Social Services. Prosecutors say she failed to protect the baby from Taylor. Schurig has not admitted any crime.

Her lawyer, Gary Lemel, said he is aware of Taylor’s motion and claim that both Taylor and Schurig want mutual contact but declined to address Taylor’s claim.

“We take no position on his bond or any modifications to his bond,” Lemel said.

State agents and prosecutors say the baby’s brain and neck were injured, causing what might be irrevocable harm. Taylor and Schurig also face a separate DSS probe into Jaxon’s injuries.

The couple were arrested in March following a two-week investigation by State Law Enforcement Division agents after they took Jaxon to Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, where they lived. The child was then taken to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, where he was treated for weeks before being released into DSS custody.

Taylor resigned from the York Police Department, where he was a patrol corporal, two days before his arrest at the hospital in Charlotte. He worked for the Lancaster and Rock Hill police departments for 17 years.

Schurig, 36, resigned from her job as a patrol sergeant with the Chester Police Department after her arrest. She worked for the York County Sheriff’s Office and Tega Cay police before working in Chester.

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Ex-York police officer accused of child abuse seeks more lenient bond."