LEESBURG (VA)
Washington Post
By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 15, 2005; Page LZ01
A former Roman Catholic priest at a Leesburg church was sentenced Monday to two years' probation, and not prison time, for attempting to gain access to online child pornography, after Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney James E. Plowman (R) made no sentencing recommendation to the judge.
A victims advocacy group had called for Robert C. Brooks, 73, who faced as much as five years in prison, to receive time behind bars for the felony charge. A spokesman for the group said after the hearing at the Loudoun Circuit Court that Plowman should have recused himself from the case because he belongs to St. John the Apostle Roman Catholic Church. Brooks was a minister at the church for 14 years.
Plowman "was a weak and feckless advocate up there," said Paul Steidler, spokesman for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "I don't think the taxpayers of Loudoun County got their money's worth."
Plowman said that he joined the church in summer 2004, shortly before Brooks was charged, and that his membership did not affect his handling of the case.