The boy said he is still embarrassed by what happened and notices people at school giving him strange looks.

"I hear from other people, they make fun of me," he said. "It separates me from my friends I used to have."

Prosecutor Narda Beas-Nordell rejected the horseplay contention.

"To (the defendant) it meant nothing, it was all a joke. But yes, it had emotional impact on the victim," she said. " ... It's not acceptable to sit on somebody's head with your buttocks."

The defendant testified in his own defense, saying he never intended to do anything for sexual gratification.

During closing arguments, defense attorney Russ Pietryga said prosecutors overcharged the case.

"They have created this monster ... I find it unbelievable they are asking the court to do gymnastics to find first-degree felonies," Pietryga said.

Outside court, prior to sentencing, the defendant was talking and joking around with the boys who testified for the state, even those who were victimized.

The defendant's parents cried as the verdict was issued. Before sentencing, the three victims in the case — including the one who gave the most credible testimony — all asked the judge to keep the defendant on house arrest. The boy who offered the most graphic testimony said he thought the seriousness of the charges didn't match what had happened.

"It was just a mistake. We all make mistakes," one boy testified.

But because the defendant had a previous assault conviction and because he faces trial next week on five additional felony charges involving sexual misconduct with two younger children, Nolan ordered the youth into custody.

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