Former politician sentenced in molestation case

Former Falls Church Democratic Committee Chairman Michael Gardner admitted on Thursday to charges relating to the molestation of his then 12-year-old niece in 2009 and three other girls at his daughter’s sleepover party in 2011. He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of object sexual penetration and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Gardner’s niece and wife testified for the prosecution during the trial.