VIRGINIA
TimesCommunity
By Jana Renn
jrenn@timespapers.com
12/28/2005
The Rev. Robert Brooks, a former priest at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Annandale during the 1970s, and more recently, the former pastor of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Leesburg, will not be going to jail after pleading no contest to one felony count of attempting to possess child pornography.
Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Herman Whisenant Jr. recently sentenced Brooks, 73, to three years in jail but suspended the sentence in favor of two years probation.
Whisenant is also requiring Brooks to complete a sexual offender treatment program.
During the hearing, three people who have known Brooks for at least 15 years described him as an honest, caring and generous friend.
Brooks was indicted in February on a felony count of possession of child pornography. Brooks came under investigation in September 2003 when the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it found his name registered on a child pornography Web site.