Former Pastor Pleads to Child Sex Abuse

Washington Examiner
February 7, 2012

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/capital-land/2012/02/former-pastor-pleads-child-sex-abuse/246056

The former pastor of a Montgomery County church pleaded to charges that he sexually abused a young girl, prosecutors said.

Seventy-four-year-old Joe Ivey pleaded Tuesday to second-degree sex offense with a 10-year-old girl.

Frederick County prosecutors said Ivey, who resigned as senior pastor of the Barnesville Baptist Church after he arrest in September, had sexual contact with the girl from 2009 to December 2010. She was 10 and 11 years old at the time.

Prosecutors said they'll recommend that Ivey serve four years in prison, with 16 years suspended.

Defense attorney Richard Bricken told the Asssociated Press that he is seeking no prison time for Ivey, of Walkersville, Md. Ivey has no criminal record, Bricken said.