Fairfax County

Ex-Fairfax Mayor Released After Meth-for-Sex Conviction

The former mayor of Fairfax, Virginia, was sentenced Friday to three months in prison for distributing methamphetamine in exchange for sex, but he was released by the afternoon.

R. Scott Silverthorne was sentenced to five years in prison with all but three months suspended. But the former mayor, who had been in jail since entering a guilty plea in March, was credited for the time he served.

Silverthorne was released Friday afternoon, News4's David Culver reported. 

"Last August, my life changed forever. My arrest and public humiliation was probably the best thing," Silverthrone said at his sentencing. "My life as I know it is over. It will never be the same. I know I let people down; my family, my friends and my hometown."

Silverthorne was arrested by Fairfax County police on Aug. 4, 2016, after a sting at a hotel in Tysons Corner. Police said they set up the sting after receiving a tip that Silverthorne was using a dating website to set up sexual encounters with men in exchange for drugs.

Police said Silverthorne gave an undercover detective two grams of methamphetamine outside the hotel before his arrest.

Silverthorne, a three-term mayor, resigned after his arrest.

“He’s had a lot of support from the community throughout this," Silverthorne's attorney Brian Drummond said after the sentencing.

Silverthorne's arrest came amid a trying year for him. He lost his full-time civilian job, lost his home and was diagnosed with cancer.

His family and friends have supported him throughout the past year.

“We're just relieved, you know. This has been weighing on our hearts like so heavy for the last three months,” Silverthorne's niece, Katie Hayes, said.

“I think it’s great. I work with him. I've missed him for the past three months at work and just happy to have him back,” Chris Minich said.

Silverthorne admitted Friday that while embarassing, his arrest was a life-saving wake up call.

“To actually come clean and to say it was extremely difficult. I was in complete denial, truth be told, that I had a problem,” Silverthorne said.

"We’re going to support him and hold him to it,” Hayes said.

Contact Us