Former priest aspirant escapes prison sentence after pleading guilty to watching 'child rape' videos

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A man who aspired to be a priest and served in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has avoided prison time after admitting to being in possession of several videos and images of children being sexually abused taken on his cellphone.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer Branch sentenced Brockerick Witt to five years' probation with several conditions.

“The actions I committed do not reflect the person I am or want to be,” Witt, 29, said in court on Thursday. “They are the result of a life of mental anguish and the desire to be free of it. I am deeply ashamed.”

He must spend six months at the River City Correctional Center, a rehabilitation facility that evaluates and treats non-violent felons.

After his release, Witt must register as a Level 2 sex offender every 180 days (almost six months) for 25 years.

Witt is also subject to a court order to stay away from children and St. Mary's Seminary in Mt. Washington, to refrain from consuming alcohol or marijuana, and to have no access to the Internet, Wi-Fi or even a cell phone signal.

A Hamilton County grand jury indicted Witt on 15 counts, most of which related to facilitating sexually motivated conduct with minors.

He faced up to 12 years in prison after recently pleading guilty to eight counts of distributing sexually oriented material involving minors, court records show. Prosecutors dropped the other seven charges.

He was released from prison on $50,000 bail.

If he violates any of the conditions, he could still be sent to prison for the full twelve years, the judge said.

Witt was caught with eight videos featuring underage female victims. All of the videos were traced to the IP address of Mt. St. Mary's Seminary and School Theology in Mt. Washington, which he attended, prosecutors said.

Officials discovered that Witt was training to be a priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and that his address was the seminary where he was arrested in February.

After his arrest, he gave up his studies.

The investigation began in late 2023 after the Task Force on Internet Crimes Against Children forwarded a tip to a regional task force.

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