Ian Taylor, the composer behind much of the music for free-to-play MMO RuneScape, was sentenced today by the Peterborough Crown Court in England to 22 months in prison after admitting to drunkenly assaulting a girl under the age of 13 last December.
According to a report from the Cambridge Independent, 53-year-old Cambridge resident Taylor was involved in an incident involving an underage girl that took place in the early hours of December 21. The incident came to light when the girl in question confided to a family member. When questioned by police about the matter Taylor confessed, acknowledging that his actions were inappropriate, and claiming that he was drunk and depressed at the time.
Taylor was then served a postal requisition, an official document informing him that he was to be tried by the court on charges of assaulting a girl under the age of 13. He once again admitted to the offence at his initial hearing, and his sentence was delivered in the Peterborough Crown Court today. Along with serving 22 months in prison, Ian Taylor will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a period of 10 years.
According to a statement issued by RuneScape developer Jagex to Kotaku, Ian Taylor was dismissed from the company in March of this year.
“Jagex expects the highest standards from its staff and we act decisively if those values that we hold dear are not reflected in the behaviour of employees. The person in question no longer works at Jagex, and was dismissed when the circumstances of the allegations came to light in March 2021.
“We have conducted an internal review of the employee’s interactions with staff and any players he may have come into contact with during his time at Jagex. We have found no evidence that might prompt further investigation at this time.”
The final post on Taylor’s work Twitter account was on March 18, in which he promoted a fresh pressing of the RuneScape soundtrack album.
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