District Court Judge Sharon Hansen’s message to men who socialize with young girls rang loud and clear Thursday morning when she sentenced a Dolores man — convicted of providing alcohol to minors — to 60 days in jail.

Kevin Kartchner, 22, had been acquitted Feb. 1 on charges of first-degree sexual assault on a helpless victim and sexual assault on a child but was found guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor charge of providing alcohol to minors, entered at the last minute by his own defense attorney.

On Thursday he was also sentenced to two years of supervised probation, $1,050 in court costs, and 200 hours of community service, and ordered to write letters of apology to the victims and to stay away from all young girls, according to Hansen.

"I think it’s unacceptable for a 21-year-old to be consorting with 13- and 16-year-olds," Hansen told Kartchner at his sentencing hearing that morning.

Two girls, 13 and 16, were in town for spring break in March 2000 when they went to a party, became intoxicated and ended up at the defendant’s home.

The 13-year-old testified that she and her cousin (the second alleged victim) had been drinking alcohol provided by Kartchner at a party at the "power lines" near Totten Lake.

The older girl reportedly became extremely intoxicated and Kartchner offered to take them to his home for coffee.

It was at his home on County Road 27, the youngest girl said, where Kartchner sexually assaulted her and her incapacitated cousin.

Kartchner denied the allegations and, with a lack of physical evidence to support the girls’ claims, he was acquitted on the sexual-assault charges and found guilty of the misdemeanor charge — which the district attorney’s office called a "strategic" charge on the defense’s part.

"He was convicted of what he did do," Kartchner’s defense attorney, Suzanne Carlson, told the Journal in February.

However, during the sentencing hearing, she commented that Kartchner wasn’t the only individual who had provided alcohol to the two young girls and argued that he had already received ample punishment.

Carlson said her client had already served 30 days in jail for the sexual-assault allegation as well as paying nearly $2,000 in costs for jail supervision once he posted bond.

"He has been punished quite a bit in this case already," Carlson said.

Assistant District Attorney Katy Cabot disagreed, stating that the circumstances surrounding the offense were "aggravated facts," and Kartchner should be sentenced within the presumptive range of three months to a year.

"One of the girls was lying in her own vomit. . . and he didn’t make any attempt to help," Cabot told the court.

Although Kartchner was not sentenced to the maximum penalties, Hansen stated that he would not be given credit for the 30 days served and that if he deviated from any of the stipulations in the sentencing, she would impose the maximum penalties.

"I want to control your behavior so I know you’re not doing this again," Hansen told Kartchner.

The judge also verbally reprimanded him and expressed her concerns about a "subculture" of men who associate with girls much younger than themselves.

"I share her concern about the ‘subculture’ that exists in this town," Cabot told the Journal. "We have seen other cases where there’s a 20-something-year-old man who is providing alcohol to a high-school-age or younger girl and then leaving with her. I would think any parent in this community would be concerned about that."