BATON ROUGE — District Attorney Hillar Moore said Monday that his office is working diligently to prosecute a man accused of raping a 94-year-old woman after a previous case against the man was dismissed.

Jeremiah Taylor, 22, was arrested on Friday in connection with the rape and was booked on first-degree rape, second-degree battery, cruelty to the infirm and obscenity charges. A Baton Rouge Police spokesperson said that the rape happened the day before his arrest.

Before his arrest in connection with the rape of the 94-year-old woman, a warrant was issued for Taylor's arrest on violation of protective order charges stemming from another case in which he was accused of raping another woman in August 2024.

According to the warrant, the victim of the 2024 case had an order of protection against Taylor following his previous arrest for sexual battery and rape. The protective order said that Taylor could not contact the victim or go within 100 yards of her home. The order is active through Sept. 3, 2026.

Taylor was released from the East Baton Rouge Prison on Jan. 12 after the charges for the 2024 case were dismissed.

Moore says that the charges were dismissed after failed attempts to locate the alleged victim.

"Without the victim's testimony, we could not proceed to trial," Moore said. 

Moore added that the charges were dismissed in a "manner that preserved the State’s ability to prosecute the defendant again if circumstances allowed."

The DA said that he has since contacted the previous victim, and his office "is moving forward aggressively" to prosecute Taylor in connection with the rape of the 94-year-old and the previous victim. 

"The seriousness of these allegations and the alleged repeat nature of the conduct could expose the defendant to the most severe penalties under Louisiana law, including life imprisonment and enhanced sentencing provisions," Moore added.