A Milford man accused of abusing children while serving as a youth minister will face a federal trial in Virginia early next year.
Jeff Taylor, 66, pleaded not guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court. Authorities arrested him two weeks ago after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sex and attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sex.
According to the indictment, the illegal activity occurred between 1994 and 2002, while Taylor worked as a youth minister at Falls Church Anglican in Virginia. Taylor later worked at two Georgia churches before moving to the Cincinnati area to work for a decade at the University of Cincinnati Foundation.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of
Virginia have said Taylor engaged in "grooming behaviors" such as sexual horseplay, asked questions about the boys' sexual secrets and had conversations with them about his own sexual experiences. They said he traveled with boys to ministry events with "the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct."
"Taylor allegedly engaged or attempted to engage in sexual molestation of multiple boys," prosecutors said following his arrest.
Years after he left Falls Church in 2002, church officials commissioned an independent investigation that found three men have accused Taylor of sexually abusing them when they were boys in the 1990s. More than a dozen others told the investigator Taylor behaved inappropriately and asked them questions related to sex and masturbation.
A group of Taylor's former students created a website, Jeff Taylor Justice, which offers support for his accusers and provides background, reports and news about Taylor.
The Washington Post reported on the allegations last year and noted that several of Taylor's accusers had spoken to the FBI about their experiences with him. Taylor, who has not previously addressed the charges, spoke briefly after the court hearing Thursday.
"Nothing has captured the good I’ve done,” he told The Washington Post. “It’s too late to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Once all these ugly things have been said about me, you can’t take it back.”
Taylor worked for the UC Foundation from 2013 to 2023 and currently lives with his wife in Milford. At the foundation, Taylor solicited donors and helped coordinate fundraising on behalf of UC Health's Gardner Neuroscience Institute.
Foundation officials have said they did a standard background check on Taylor before hiring him. They said his work in Cincinnati did not involve interaction with children.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles scheduled a pre-trial hearing for December and a trial to begin Feb. 16.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Milford man pleads not guilty to abusing boys when he was minister
