Magistrate pleads guilty to bribes

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A former state magistrate in Portsmouth has pleaded guilty to taking bribes from a bail bondsman.

According to prosecutors, 52-year-old Deborah Clark accepted the bribes in exchange for favorable treatment in setting bonds for defendants. Clark pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. She faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 3.

Clark was a sate magistrate from January 1993 until last month. A statement of facts filed with the plea agreement says that from 2009 through February of this year, Clark accepted cash and gifts from a bondsman in exchange for referring potential clients to him. She also accepted the bondsman's advice on the amount of bond to set in some case.