Priest Avoids Jail Time in Plea

By Robert Gavin
Albany Times Union
August 14, 2014

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Priest-pleads-guilty-to-endangering-in-Clifton-5686790.php

Rev. James Michael Taylor leaves Clifton Park Court after pleading guilty to misdemeanor endangerment. (Lori Van Buren/Times Unon)

A Niskayuna priest who carried on a seven-month relationship with a 15-year-old girl admitted he endangered the minor Wednesday — but will spend no time behind bars.

The Rev. James Michael Taylor, who was serving as an associate pastor at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Niskayuna, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor that carries no more than a year in jail.

But Taylor, 30, known as "Father Michael," will receive no jail time when he is sentenced Oct. 8, according to people familiar with the case.