Shauna Taylor Found Guilty of Aggravated Child Abuse, Child Neglect

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that Shauna Dee Taylor, 40, of Macclenny, was found guilty by a jury of Aggravated Child Abuse and Child Neglect. Taylor now faces a maximum of 45 years in Florida State Prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled to be set by the Honorable James Daniel the week of Oct. 1.

Taylor gave birth to a premature child in late November 2012. Days after the child was released to Taylor’s care in February 2013, Taylor returned to the hospital with the infant three times. Each visit included exaggerated and/or falsified symptoms of the child’s health. During the third hospital visit, the child went into liver failure for unexplained reasons, which perplexed physicians and led to several invasive medical procedures. During this time, several anonymous tips came into a child abuse hotline claiming Taylor had Munchausen by proxy and was abusing the child. The tips also identified Taylor’s Facebook page guiding visitors to a fundraising site for the sick child. Once the tips came in, the infant was tested for poisons that could lead to liver failure — the tests came back positive for iron well beyond regular levels. Taylor was confronted with the results and the child’s iron levels and liver function returned to normal on their own while under hospital observation. A subsequent review revealed Taylor had a history of medical child abuse with her nine other children and her parental rights for each were terminated.

The case was investigated by State Attorney’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Alan Mizrahi and Coreylyn Crawford.