Jeff Taylor pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sex and attempting to do so while he was a youth minister in Virginia from 1994 to 2002. His trial is set for Feb. 16, after a December pretrial hearing.
Federal prosecutors allege Taylor engaged in grooming behaviors, including sexual horseplay, questions about boys’ sexual secrets and conversations about his own sexual experiences. They also allege he traveled with boys to ministry events intending illicit sexual conduct. After Taylor left Falls Church Anglican in 2002, church officials commissioned an independent investigation. It found that three men accused him of sexually abusing them as boys in the 1990s; more than a dozen others told the investigator he behaved inappropriately and asked sexual questions.
After the hearing, Taylor told The Washington Post, “Nothing has captured the good I’ve done,” and said the allegations could not be taken back. He worked at the University of Cincinnati Foundation from 2013 to 2023; foundation officials said they conducted a standard background check before hiring him and his work did not involve children.
