Jeff Turner Taylor, a former youth minister at the Falls Church Episcopal in Virginia, entered a not guilty plea Thursday to federal sex abuse charges tied to his time at the church.
Federal authorities charged Taylor, 66, of Milford, Ohio, with coercing and attempting to coerce three minors into sexual activity during the 1990s and early 2000s.
He also faces four counts of traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors under the age of 18.
A trial has been scheduled for February 16 at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, where prosecutors will be required to prove the government’s case against him.
Taylor served as youth minister and director of adult discipleship at the Falls Church Episcopal from 1990 to early 2002, a congregation established in the early 18th century and one of the Washington region’s most prominent houses of worship.
His attorney, R. Scott Croswell III, confirmed Taylor’s intention to contest the charges, stating, “We’ll have an opportunity to defend him and see if the government can prove what they allege.”
Court documents allege that Taylor sexually groomed multiple boys under the guise of spiritual guidance, engaging in sexual horseplay and probing discussions about the sexual habits and secrets of the boys in his ministry.
Investigators allege that Taylor’s pattern of sexual grooming and abuse extended well beyond Falls Church Episcopal, spanning from at least 1990 until 2008 and involving victims in Atlanta as well.
According to court documents, Taylor went on to serve at two additional churches in the Atlanta area following his Virginia tenure, where he allegedly groomed and sexually abused a boy under his pastoral care.
A church-commissioned report published in 2024 by the Falls Church Anglican, located roughly a mile from the Falls Church Episcopal, alleged that Taylor had sexually abused three youths from the congregation during the 1990s and early 2000s.
That same report alleged Taylor discussed masturbation habits with nearly a dozen male youths and held graphic conversations with six children about his own or their genitalia.
A Washington Post investigation in early 2025 reported that Taylor allegedly maintained a lengthy physical relationship with a boy in Atlanta in the early 2000s, deepening concerns about the scope of his alleged conduct.
Taylor’s attorney at the time of that 2025 reporting, Christopher McDowell, maintained that “no physical evidence or independent corroboration links Mr. Taylor to any abusive conduct.”
Parents and youth group alumni had lodged accusations against Taylor with both church leaders and the FBI at various points over many years, accusations that ultimately formed the basis of the 2024 church-commissioned investigation into his conduct.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Taylor this month following an investigation by the FBI, marking a significant escalation in the legal proceedings against him.
If convicted on all counts, Taylor faces up to 105 years in federal prison, and the FBI Washington Field Office has encouraged anyone with additional information or who may have been a victim to come forward.
