The former mayor of Fairfax City in Virginia is facing up to 40 years in prison after he pled guilty to trading crystal meth for sex. Richard  Scott  Silverthorne entered a guilty plea to one charge of distributing methamphetamine on Monday.This shocking story began in August of 2016 when Silverthorne was arrested. Police say they got a tip that he was using a website to set up casual sexual encounters and distribute meth. An undercover officer set up a fake profile on the site and Silverthorne took the bait. In just days he had responded to the undercover officer and arranged to meet him at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in McLean, Virginia. The police set up a sting operation and busted him when he gave the undercover cop two grams of meth. During the raid, police arrested Silverthorne and two other men.Silverthorne was released on his own recognizance last August and had remained free since then. It was expected that he would be released today to await his sentencing hearing, but instead, he was sent to jail. Reports say that there were  audible gasps  in the courtroom when the judge made the announcement.His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 9. He could receive a maximum of 40 years behind bars and a hefty $500,000 fine. However, his attorney, Brian Drummond, says he is hopeful that Silverthorne will get time served and be placed on probation because of the decades he has spent as a public servant with no criminal record.Before he was caught trading drugs for sex, Silverthorne had been re-elected as Fairfax City Mayor. He was also a substitute teacher who worked in the Fairfax County Public Schools. After he was arrested, a special election was held in February of 2017 to replace him.You can watch more on this story here, via ABC7: Featured image via video screen capture