Broward church volunteer admits he tried to recruit 14-year-old parishioner for sex

By Paula Mcmahon
Sun Sentinel
January 30, 2017

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-church-volunteer-teen-sex-guilty-20170130-story.html

Timothy Taffe, 71, of Fort Lauderdale, admitted he used his position as a church volunteer at St. Benedict's Episcopal Church in Plantation to try to recruit a 14-year-old parishioner to have sex with him.

A 71-year-old Broward County church volunteer who promised a 14-year-old parishioner his BMW and inheritance if she would have sex with him pleaded guilty Monday to a federal sex charge.

Timothy Taffe, of Fort Lauderdale, admitted he aggressively pursued the minor after meeting her at game night at St. Benedict's Episcopal Church in Plantation in July. He pleaded guilty to attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Prosecutors said they will recommend that Taffe, who has been jailed since he was arrested in October after showing up for what he thought was a sex date with the girl, should serve 10 years in federal prison. Taffe also will have to register as a sex offender.

Taffe, who used a wheelchair in court Monday, admitted he sent the girl emails asking her "to be his secret friend, soliciting her to meet him in private, and offering her alcohol." He also took photographs of her at church events, he admitted.

"During their last encounter at the church, Taffe asked [the girl] 'When are you going to give it up?' and 'How long do I have to wait?'" according to the plea agreement.

The girl repeatedly told Taffe she was 14, rebuffed him and questioned the appropriateness of his comments, she told investigators. The girl's grandmother reported the email exchanges to Father Alberto Cutie at the church, according to court records.

Cutie told the Sun Sentinel in October that church officials ousted Taffe from the congregation in the month before his arrest and after the girl's family reported their concerns. Taffe, an insurance broker, had volunteered as a church greeter.

The girl allowed law enforcement to take control of her email account in September and undercover officers sent Taffe a cell phone number he thought belonged to the girl.

In the following weeks, Taffe sent increasingly graphic messages and photos of his clothed and naked genitals to the girl, though they were actually received by Plantation police and other agents from the FBI's child exploitation task force.

Taffe sent a series of inappropriate texts, instructing what he thought was the 14-year-old about how to prepare for sex with him, he admitted. Those texts included information about how to fantasize about him and get birth control pills.

Taffe also wrote that he knew what he was planning was a criminal offense and that he was concerned about getting caught. He also offered her his BMW and what he called his "inheritance" after they consummated the relationship.

In early October, Taffe began texting the undercover agents about meeting for sex and referred to himself as "the King who loves you." He also admitted he sent photographs of his bed sheets and ice cream he had bought in preparation for what he said was "my dream when we met … so many years waiting."

Taffe arrived to meet the girl Oct. 11 at the Westfield Broward mall but agents arranged the meeting so she did not show up. The agents sent Taffe more messages rescheduling the meeting for sex on Oct. 12. Taffe was arrested when he arrived at the mall. When investigators searched his Fort Lauderdale home, they found evidence he had prepared for a sexual encounter there with the girl.

U.S. District Judge William Zloch scheduled Taffe's sentencing for April 12 in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.