"My feeling was he was very in-tune with her feelings," Backlund said. "He had been a counselor for people, he picked up on those very subtle feelings, thought he could exploit her as a victim. He should know, more than other people ... what constitutes appropriate touching, conversation."

Although Backlund said he thought jail time was necessary, he also said he felt bound by the agreement.

So he imposed a year of probation and ordered that Gardner not consume any alcohol, nor violate any law, including traffic laws. He must also complete mental health treatment, pay restitution for the victim's counseling and have no contact with females under the age of 18.

"If you didn't have the agreement, you would be going to jail now for six months," Backlund told Gardner.

The victim asked for the maximum jail time and fines, although she knew prosecutor Paul DeWitt had already agreed with defense attorney Mike Esplin to not ask for jail time, in order to get the case resolved.

The resolution meant that Gardner entered a no-contest plea to a class B misdemeanor of assault —nothing sexually related, specified his attorney Mike Esplin.

Had the deal not been reached, they were prepared to take the case to trial, Esplin said.

"Some of the things the court is talking about here are not based on the evidence of the case. There was no evidence taken in the case," Esplin said. "We entered a plea arrangement because we wanted to get it resolved."

Prosecutor Paul DeWitt said the case was resolved to prevent the victim from having to testify at trial, but said he disputes the insinuation that the incident was just a brush on the leg.

"This is not an innocent touching," he said. "She has suffered enough ... so we made a decision to settle it for less. But for the record, we do dispute the facts as they are alleged by the defendant."

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