New York

Former NY Priest, a Convicted Sex Offender, Dies in Jail

What to Know

  • New York's state Commission of Correction says a former Long Island priest and convicted sex offender has been found dead in a jail cell
  • Michael L. Hands, 51, was found dead in the Saratoga County jail on Tuesday
  • Authorities say his death was a suspected suicide

New York's state Commission of Correction says a former Long Island priest and convicted sex offender has been found dead in a jail cell.

The Times Union reports that 51-year-old Michael L. Hands was found dead in the Saratoga County jail on Tuesday.

Authorities say his death was a suspected suicide. However, an autopsy is planned and the correction commission is investigating.

Hands was set to be sentenced to state prison this week for molesting a teenage boy last summer in Charlton, New York.

Hands also was convicted in 2003 of molesting another teenage boy on Long Island. He served two years in prison and cooperated with a grand jury investigation into abusive priests.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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