Republican Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st District, seeking reelection, said opponent Shannon Taylor, the Henrico County prosecutor, embraces a lenient stance toward offenders and aligns with Fairfax County prosecutor Steve Descano, who has appeared before the Judiciary Committee and is known for treating defendants lightly.

Wittman said Taylor converted nine felony counts of child sexual assault into a misdemeanor, producing a one-year jail term and no sex-offender listing, so the person now lives freely in a neighborhood. He said she declined to charge a 51-year-old who abused an 82-year-old Alzheimer patient in a nursing home despite records from police, the state health department, and the nursing board; six months later that person abused additional patients.

He said a neonatal nurse who broke bones in the hands and feet of eight premature infants received three years rather than 45, or four months per child, leaving the infants with lasting harm.