Former Youth Minister in Falls Church, Virginia, Indicted on Federal Child Sex Abuse Charges

Jeff Turner Taylor, a former youth minister at Falls Church Episcopal in Virginia, has been indicted on federal child sex abuse charges. Taylor, 66, faces seven counts. Three of the counts allege that he coerced or attempted to coerce three minors into sexual activity. The other four allege that he traveled across state lines with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors under 18. The charges are allegations, and no trial has been held.

One report says Taylor, of Milford, Ohio, served as youth minister and director of adult discipleship at Falls Church Episcopal from 1990 to early 2002. According to that report, the charges allege conduct during the 1990s and early 2000s, and investigators claim the alleged abuse spanned from at least 1990 until 2008 and involved victims in Atlanta. The reports do not reconcile the 2002 end of Taylor’s church role with the 2008 end date investigators cite.

The charges followed years of allegations from former youth group members and parents, a church-commissioned report published in 2024, and an FBI probe. That 2024 report, published by Falls Church Anglican, alleged that Taylor had sexually abused three youths from the congregation during the 1990s and early 2000s. According to an FBI affidavit, Taylor groomed boys under the guise of spiritual guidance. Protecting the vulnerable is the duty at the center of these allegations (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The reports differ on Taylor’s court status. One report says he has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. His attorney, R. Scott Croswell III, said Taylor intends to contest them. The other report says Taylor was released on bail and was scheduled to appear in court on September 24, and that his attorney had stated he would plead not guilty. Neither report reconciles the two accounts of his plea.

One report says a trial has been set for February 16 at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria.