Party of Five star going to jail
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - Actor Scott Bairstow was sentenced to four months in jail for an attack involving a 12-year-old girl.
Bairstow originally was charged with second-degree child rape but entered a modified guilty plea last month to a reduced charge of second-degree assault. Bairstow, who has been in the Snohomish County Jail since Dec. 5, could be freed in 37 days with credit for time served and good behavior, authorities said.
In the Alford plea, Bairstow, 33, maintained he was innocent but conceded he would likely be convicted if the case went to trial.
'I did not rape her. But I believe I've caused some stress and obviously anxiety, and for that I am sorry,' Bairstow said at his court hearing Friday.
Bairstow, who appeared on Fox's 'Party of Five' in 1998 and 1999, also was ordered to undergo a sexual deviancy evaluation and 12 months of supervision after his release.
Deputy Prosecutor Janice Albert had asked for a six-month jail sentence; the defense wanted three months.
Prosecutors said the girl, a relative of Bairstow's wife, told authorities she had sex with Bairstow in 1998, when she was 12, and three more times outside Washington state, most recently in 2001.
Bairstow has appeared in nine feature films, including 'Tuck Everlasting,' and various television shows, including 'Touched by an Angel.' He lives in Los Angeles
Bairstow originally was charged with second-degree child rape but entered a modified guilty plea last month to a reduced charge of second-degree assault. Bairstow, who has been in the Snohomish County Jail since Dec. 5, could be freed in 37 days with credit for time served and good behavior, authorities said.
In the Alford plea, Bairstow, 33, maintained he was innocent but conceded he would likely be convicted if the case went to trial.
'I did not rape her. But I believe I've caused some stress and obviously anxiety, and for that I am sorry,' Bairstow said at his court hearing Friday.
Bairstow, who appeared on Fox's 'Party of Five' in 1998 and 1999, also was ordered to undergo a sexual deviancy evaluation and 12 months of supervision after his release.
Deputy Prosecutor Janice Albert had asked for a six-month jail sentence; the defense wanted three months.
Prosecutors said the girl, a relative of Bairstow's wife, told authorities she had sex with Bairstow in 1998, when she was 12, and three more times outside Washington state, most recently in 2001.
Bairstow has appeared in nine feature films, including 'Tuck Everlasting,' and various television shows, including 'Touched by an Angel.' He lives in Los Angeles
