Ex-teaching assistant convicted of sexually assaulting child

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A former teaching assistant in suburban St. Louis faces sentencing in June after being convicted of sexually assaulting a second grade student at school. A jury on Thursday found 39-year-old Deonte Taylor of St. Louis County guilty of three counts sodomy and one count of knowingly exposing someone to HIV. Taylor is still awaiting trial on a charge that he tried to hire a hitman to kill the boy, his mother and grandmother. Authorities say the crime happened in 2015 at Lusher Elementary School in Florissant. The boy, now 14, testified Tuesday about the crime. The boy has tested negative for HIV.