Priest Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charges

By Kyle Odegard
Albany Democrat-Herald
June 10, 2014

http://democratherald.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/priest-pleads-guilty-to-child-porn-charges/article_8bc5109a-f0fb-11e3-b2ef-0019bb2963f4.html

An Albany man who was a priest with a Lewisburg Orthodox church was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison as part of a plea deal for child pornography charges on Tuesday.

Stanley Brittain, 39, pleaded guilty in Linn County Circuit Court to four counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse during Tuesday’s hearing.

Prosecutor Michael Wynhausen said Brittain trafficked online in child pornography, and had hundreds of images and movies, some with victims of abuse who were babies or toddlers.

An investigation in Oklahoma child pornography suspect led authorities to Brittain, who was arrested by Albany police in April.

Wynhausen spent minutes giving graphic details about some of the child pornography. “This is just a fraction of the images,” he said.

But Wynhausen also acknowledged that Brittain told police about several individuals throughout the country who also dealt in child porn.

“There were arrests made as a result of his information,” Wynhausen said, including five in Oregon.

Defense attorney Arnold Poole said at least two suspects had been arrested in Linn County.

Poole added that Brittain was trading child porn as a way to get more methamphetamine and feed his addiction to the drug.

During Brittain’s time in jail, and as the methamphetamine flushed out of his system, “He became more and more appalled at the evil he was supporting,” Poole said.

“I’m as disgusted as anyone. Sickened, even,” Brittain told the court.

“I’m very, very sorry,” he added.

Brittain, who must register as a sex offender, also was found in violation of his probation for a driving under the influence of intoxicants conviction.

He could get a 20 percent reduction in his prison time for good behavior, according to the terms of his sentence.

Brittain, who also was known as Father Isidore, was an unpaid staff member at St. Anne Orthodox Church, near Corvallis, and loosely affiliated with that facility, according to Albany police.

At the time of Brittain’s arrest, police said there was no evidence he was grooming potential victims from the congregation.