Daytona Beach, FL - A 46-year-old Daytona Beach man is wanted on three felony counts of child abuse. The charging affidavit states that Taft Nichols had access to three little girls, age 10 and younger. It also states that the mother of two of the children has known Nichols for 30 years.
Sex Crimes investigators with the DBPD began the investigation soon after the mother of two of the girls reported the abuse on October 14 at Advent Health
The girls all told officers basically the same story: that Nichols abused them physically and sexually on several occasions. Some of the things that happened to the children include threatening to kill one of them repeatedly, pointing a knife at her during one of those times, choking two of the girls with a hand around their throats, touching the private area of one of the girls, and exposing his penis to at least one of the girls. None of the children had visible injuries
The Department of Children and Family Services was contacted and the Child Protective Team will be investigating further.
Nicholas has been arrested on numerous occasions, most recently for robbing a pharmacy and displaying a gun in December 2017. He was also charged with four drug felonies at that time.
Anyone with information is asked to contact DBPD Detective Diego Besse at (386) 671-5212 or BesseDiego@dbpd.us You can also contact Crime Stoppers at 888-277-TIPS, or to go to WeStopCrime.com. Crime Stoppers tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
