SALUDA -- A former social worker who took the witness stand yesterday to deny that he sexually abused a young boy was found guilty on all six felony charges.

The Middlesex County jury that returned the verdicts then recommended that Arthur R. Bracke serve 34 years in prison and pay a $10,000 fine.

Bracke, 62, centered his life on helping troubled youth after service in the Air Force that included two tours in Vietnam as a medical corpsman. He opened a home for boys in Newport News in 1975 that moved to Middlesex two years later. When the boys home went bankrupt in 1985, he got a job with the county social services department that ended with retirement in 2007 after a 21-year career in child protective services work.

Commonwealth's Attorney Michael T. Hurd told the jury yesterday that Bracke's actions with an 11-year-old boy, who testified at the beginning of the trial Tuesday, betrayed the trust that the Middle Peninsula community had granted him.

Bracke is "someone who has hidden behind a facade of credibility," Hurd said, and used his knowledge and training as a social worker to prey on a child. "It's absolutely revolting," Hurd told the jury.

Bracke steadfastly maintained his innocence in testimony yesterday morning. Throughout the rest of the trial, he frequently shook his head in reaction to comments Hurd made to the jury.

The 11-year-old boy who testified Tuesday said Bracke engaged in more than the tickling and wrestling that Bracke told the jury. The boy said he had to fend off Bracke three times while spending the night at Bracke's house on Nov. 3. The boy said Bracke twice reached into his pajamas and, later, attempted to rub him a third time. The boy said he pushed Bracke away each time.

Judge William T. Shaw III set a Nov. 5 sentencing date.

This week's trial is just the beginning of legal proceedings for Bracke, who became a suspect in child molestation after his home went up in flames on Nov. 17.

Bracke faces a Sept. 3 trial on charges of arson and attempted murder. He is accused of setting fire to his home while his adopted teenage son slept inside.

Bracke has also been indicted on five felony sexual counts involving a 10-year-old county boy last September. No date has been set to hear those charges.
Contact Lawrence Latané III at (804) 333-3461 or llatane@timesdispatch.com.

Other charges

 

Arthur R. Bracke also faces charges at a Sept. 16 trial involving another boy and goes to court Sept. 3 on charges of attempted murder and arson in connection with a Nov. 17 house fire. His adopted 19-year-old son was sleeping inside.