Witt pleaded guilty Aug. 9 to eight counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor. As part of his plea, seven additional counts were dismissed.
In addition to the probation, Witt was ordered to have no access to children, no access to internet or electronic devices and he must serve six months at River City Correctional. He also was designated a Tier II sex offender, which requires him to register his address every six months for 25 years.
Witt addressed the court before his sentencing, saying his actions were fueled by depression.
“For most of my life, I felt that something was missing,” he said. “I have friends, but I always found I felt alone. I had a loving and supportive family, but I found that I hated myself. I had an exciting life with various opportunities and yet I felt dead inside and found that I would just go through the motions … I’m healing from this mental distress and learning skills to help me manage my depression.”
Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Lipps said Witt had 230 images and videos depicting sexual abuse of children and that he had shown no remorse.
“Just hearing Mr. Witt speak, you would think a person studying to be a priest, when he’s facing a judge in front of these situations, the first thing he would do was to confess his sins,” said Lipps. “To talk about what he did and who he hurt as a result of his actions. But we didn’t hear that from him in his sermon. Instead, we heard about him, and I think that goes to show the fact that he has shown no remorse for what he has done in this case.”
Branch said she decided to sentence Witt to probation because she didn’t believe he could receive adequate treatment in jail in order to be rehabilitated.
While he was a seminary student at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Witt shared images depicting the abuse of children online from November 2023 through February 2024, according to his indictment.
Prosecutors said Witt had multiple videos of underage girls, including some pre-pubescent children between the ages of 6 and 10. The videos showed the children engaging in various sexual acts, including one with a man.
Following his arrest, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati released a statement saying Witt is “no longer a student of this institution, nor a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.”
“The seminary and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have strict policies against, and take significant precautions to prevent, anyone from possessing or accessing material of this type, regardless of whether they are a student, faculty or staff,” the statement read. “Discovery of such material will result in immediate termination or dismissal and notification of law enforcement.”
Catholic church records show Witt interned for at least three Catholic churches; Saint Ann of Groesbeck and Our Lady of the Rosary in Greenhills, both in Hamilton County; and St. Albert the Great in Kettering. Social media photos show he worked with children.
The archdiocese declined to answer questions about its internet security but said pastors of parishes where Witt served as an intern had been “ministering to their parishioners as appropriate,” said Archdiocese Director of Media Relations Jennifer Schack.
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