A 17-year-old Roanoke County boy entangled in a web of incest and pornography in his own home will be tried as an adult on the charges that he faces in connection with the crimes, a judge decided Tuesday.

Roanoke County Circuit Judge Jim Swanson said a circuit court judge can place the boy in treatment programs as easily as a juvenile court judge can, but several social workers who attended the hearing shook their heads and frowned when Swanson made his call.

"It scares the hell out of me to think that one day ... this child could be in prison," said defense attorney Tom Bowers.

No family members involved in the case are being named by The Roanoke Times in order to protect the identity of the juvenile victims.

Last month, Roanoke County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Philip Trompeter denied the commonwealth's motion to transfer the case to circuit court. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Marian Kelley appealed the decision Tuesday.

The case first came to light in July, when a Roanoke County woman told police she had been involved sexually with her husband, from whom she'd become estranged, and stepson, and the events were sometimes videotaped. Officers executed a search warrant on the husband's home and seized the tapes.

According to testimony, when detectives watched the tape, they found an estimated 173 sexual acts performed in the home over the course of 2003. The scenarios included sex between the father and son, sex between the boy and his then-15-year-old stepsister and sex among the father, stepmother and son.

Police charged the father, a former firefighter, with 38 felonies including producing and possessing child pornography, crimes against nature and taking indecent liberties with a minor. The man's wife was charged with 12 felonies of a similar nature.

The boy was charged with 10 counts of sodomy and one count of producing child pornography. The latter charge is based on the fact that he "surreptitiously" videotaped himself having sex with his stepsister, Kelley said.

Kelley said the boy did not appear to be physically forced or verbally threatened to commit the acts on any of the tapes. She said he even videotaped himself with his stepsister, indicating that he had learned the wrong behavior and had begun to repeat it himself.

To bolster her case, Kelley showed several portions of the videotape in court on Tuesday. Swanson, Kelley and Bowers watched stone-faced. The boy sat with his palms covering his eyes and his index fingers plugging his ears.

But Bowers disagreed that the boy was a willing participant, saying he was groomed - essentially brainwashed - by his father to commit those acts. Bowers said the grooming process took place over a long period of time and could not necessarily be detected in the tape.

Keith Lisenbee, a licensed clinical social worker who evaluated the boy, said the father groomed the boy over 3 1/2 years by allowing him to drive when he was underage, buying him gifts and talking inappropriately about sex.

Eventually, Lisenbee said, the father began to show the boy soft- and hard-core porn, which then led to the sexual acts.

Lisenbee and other social workers testified about treatment options and indicated that they would like to see the boy go through a residential treatment plan. After that, they said, he will probably need outpatient treatment for some time.

Kelley argued that trying the boy as an adult would help protect society by ensuring that he receives treatment and does not reoffend. She pointed out that the Department of Social Services will have no control over the boy after he turns 21.

She also said that only the circuit court can order the boy to register as a sex offender.

"I want that to happen in this case," Kelley said, "as a prevention" and not a punishment.

Bowers countered by saying the boy should not have been charged with sodomy in the first place because he was a victim. He then brought up a past case in the county involving two high school girls who took pictures of their half-naked bodies and e-mailed them to other students.

"They weren't labeled sexual offenders. They weren't tried as an adult," Bowers said. "I just don't understand how someone could be a victim and a perpetrator at the same time."

Bowers said he believes that trying the boy as an adult "sends a horrible message to our society."

When Swanson made his decision, he said he based it on two thoughts. First, that the crimes in the case are so serious, and second, that the boy may not receive enough help before he turns 21 if he is left in the juvenile system.

Swanson said it makes sense to preserve the broadest range of treatment options for the boy.