Defrocked Long Island priest, sex offender found dead in Saratoga jail

ALBANY (NY)
Times Union

February 27, 2018

By Steve Hughes

Ballston Spa – A former Long Island Catholic priest and convicted sex offender was found dead in his Saratoga County jail cell after an apparent suicide on Tuesday, just days before he was to be sentenced to state prison for molesting a child.

Michael L. Hands, 51, admitted in September to twice molesting a child younger than 17 in July in Charlton.

He was set to be sentenced this week for two counts of third-degree criminal sex act. He faced up to eight years in prison.

Hands met the victim online and cultivated a relationship that ultimately led to the two meeting, where Hands victimized the child, according to Times Union archives.

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