An 88-year-old Virginia pastor was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for child sex crimes, after a judge greatly reduced it from 55 years. According to Richmond County Circuit Court records, a plea deal allowed the pastor, who had previously faced 31 charges, to receive the shorter sentence. Albert “Ben” Wharton, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Warsaw, Virginia, from 1976-2002, pleaded guilty to eight of the counts against him, court records showed.
