Ex-Ohio official gets a year in prison in prostitution case

COLUMBUS (AP) — A former Ohio official has been sentenced to a year in prison on his guilty plea to two counts of compelling prostitution.

Prosecutors said 46-year-old Robert McFadden used a Web site to promote a 17-year-old prostitute and to recommend or warn against other prostitutes.

McFadden, of the Columbus suburb of Dublin, could have received up to 10 years at Thursday’s sentencing in Columbus.

McFadden served as Gov. Ted Strickland’s director of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 2007. He was later transferred to the state prisons department before being laid off in a March 2008 budget cut.

In court, McFadden acknowledged that he had caused “great grief” to family and friends. He also said he’s being treated for sex addiction and bipolar disorder.