WASHINGTON — The former three-term mayor of Fairfax City, Virginia, arrested last summer in a sex-for-drugs sting, was sentenced to time served and released Friday after three months in the county jail.
Speaking outside the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center Friday afternoon, Richard “Scott” Silverthorne made his first public remarks since being arrested last August on drug distribution charges after a police sting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tysons Corner.
“I was in complete denial, truth be told, that I had a problem,” Silverthorne told reporters. “And while it wasn’t a path I would’ve chosen to get better in terms of the arrest, I will tell you that it probably saved my life.”
Last summer, investigators got a tip that the then-mayor was using a dating website to set up sexual encounters with men in exchange for drugs. Silverthorne was arrested after giving an undercover police officer 2 grams of methamphetamine at the hotel.
“I thought I was a recreational user,” Silverthorne said. “I was somebody that could go out and liked to tie one on. But the reality was that it was much more than that … I lived a double life, a secret life.”
The former mayor pleaded guilty in March to one felony count of distributing methamphetamine, which carried a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
At his sentencing hearing earlier Friday, Silverthorne’s lawyers had asked Circuit Court Judge Grace Carroll to sentence him to time served.
During the sentencing, Silverthorne, clad in a green Fairfax County Jail jumpsuit, told the judge his arrest and “public humiliation” forced him to deal with his drug addiction, and he said he was a living example of how addiction can strike anyone.
In addition to time served — out of a five-year suspended sentence — Carroll also sentenced Silverthorne to three years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
Prosecutors had asked for a two-year sentence, saying Silverthorne served as the face of the community and had betrayed his position of public trust.
Silverthorne is “truly remorseful” his attorney, Brian Drummond told WTOP outside the Fairfax County Detention Center. “He’s sorry that he let so many folks down, sorry that he let himself down and he’s looking forward to getting back to life as normal.”
Speaking to reporters outside the detention center, Silverthorne, who resigned as Fairfax City mayor after his arrest last year, acknowledged his career as a public servant is likely over.
“This is my hometown. I served it faithfully for about 25 years, and I’m going to miss it,” he said. “I’m going to miss it every day.”
