Former youth minister accused of grooming boys at Atlanta, Virginia churches, prosecutors say

A former youth minister who served at multiple Atlanta churches has been arrested in Ohio on child sexual exploitation charges, officials say.

Jeffrey Turner Taylor, 66, is accused of grooming and sexually abusing minors while serving as a youth minister in Atlanta and Northern Virginia.

Prosecutors say Taylor served as a youth minister at The Falls Church in Falls Church, Virginia, from 1990 to 2002. During that time, Taylor is accused of using sexual horseplay, probing questions, and discussions of his own sexual experiences to groom multiple boys.

"On multiple occasions, Taylor traveled with the alleged intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct by taking boys with him to ministry events in another state or country," a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said. "On several occasions, Taylor allegedly engaged or attempted to engage in sexual molestation of multiple boys."

Investigators say that he sexually abused a boy in his ministries while serving as a youth minister in two Atlanta churches. The churches were not named by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to officials, Taylor's alleged sexual grooming and abuse spanned from at least 1990 to 2008. 

Taylor was arrested in Milford, Ohio, and appeared in court on Monday on charges of enticement of minors for illegal sexual activity and traveling with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity with minors. If found guilty, he faces up to 105 years in prison.

Investigators are asking anyone with information or who may be a victim of Taylor to contact the FBI Washington Field Office here.