A former St. Louis County teaching assistant already accused of sexually abusing a 7-year-old boy at a local school is now accused of conspiring with his boyfriend to kill the boy and the child's mother.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 36-year-old Deonte Taylor was charged Wednesday with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of tampering with a witness in a felony prosecution. Sixty-six-year-old Michael Johnson faces the same charges.

Authorities say the sex crime happened three years ago but Taylor wasn't charged until November with three counts of sodomy.

The new charges allege Johnson and Taylor agreed to pay someone to kill the boy and his mother to prevent them from testifying. Prosecutors say the men paid a confidential informant.

Both suspects are jailed without bail. Court documents don't say whether they have attorneys.

___

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com