BATON ROUGE - A man who allegedly raped a 94-year-old woman and sexually assaulted a family member told a judge he was insane when the alleged crimes happened, but was found competent to stand trial on Tuesday. 

Jeremiah Taylor, 22, was formally charged with first-degree rape, cruelty to the infirmed, sexual battery and two counts of obscenity. In court on Tuesday, Taylor pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but Judge Tarvald Smith found Taylor to be competent. 

Taylor was arrested in March for raping a 94-year-old woman outside her home. He allegedly walked up to her porch and called her beautiful before exposing his penis. Documents say the woman ran away and he followed her into her carport, where he pushed her to the ground and raped her.

After he was taken into custody, WBRZ reported Taylor was accused of raping a family member three times two years prior. He was arrested and charged, but District Attorney Hillar Moore said the victim in that case did not want to testify. The charges were dismissed, but a protective order was in place until Sept. 2026. 

The WBRZ Investigative Unit spoke with Taylor's former foster mother, who said she was also a sexual assault victim. She said he got into bed with her and fondled himself when he was 16 years old. 

Moore told WBRZ he would be "moving forward aggressively" in Taylor's prosecution.