BANGOR – A Glenburn man was sentenced Wednesday in Penobscot County Superior Court to five years in prison, with all but three suspended, after pleading guilty to 10 counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

Billy W. Potter, 35, also pleaded no contest to one count of sexual abuse of a minor and guilty to one count of furnishing alcohol to minors, which is unrelated to the sexual abuse charges.

Dressed casually in cargo pants and a fleece jacket, Potter quietly answered “guilty” 11 times as the charges were read. Some of his answers to the judge’s questions about his decision to plead guilty were barely audible.

Timothy Smith, 45, of Ellsworth, stepfather of the victim who Potter denied abusing, angrily addressed the court about the defendant’s plea agreement with prosecutors after Potter pleaded no contest to the charge that he abused the man’s stepson.

“The plea of no contest is because Potter is afraid of further civil action,” Smith told Maine Superior Court Justice Nancy Mills. “The impact of the abuse on [my stepson] has been deep and far reaching.”

He said that when the family moved to Maine, the boy was a happy, well-behaved 13-year-old. After spending time with Potter, however, he turned angry and became prone to violent outbursts.

“Our happy, vibrant son was lost,” Smith said.

He also criticized the amount of time Potter would be incarcerated.

“With time off for good behavior, he will be released in just over two years,” the stepfather said. “That is just over eight weeks per charge. No wonder they call it a [plea] bargain. As a family, we require justice.”

Mills said that she could not sentence Potter to more time in prison. The judge told the families of the victims who attended the sentencing that she could either accept the plea agreement or reject it. If she had rejected the agreement, Potter could have withdrawn his guilty pleas and demanded a jury trial.

The stepfather also said that Potter not only took advantage of his stepson and other young men, he also ingratiated himself with their parents by calling them to introduce himself and seeking their permission for the boys to spend time with him.

“He was a soldier,” Smith said. “He should have been a role model.”

A member of the Maine Army National Guard for the past eight years, Potter recently resigned his position as a staff sergeant on active duty.

His commander has recommended he be discharged, but not honorably, Guard spokesman Maj. Peter Rogers said Wednesday after Potter’s sentencing.

Potter met his victims while off duty, according to Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Alice Clifford.

Information about Potter’s relationship with the victims came to light during a burglary investigation last year, Clifford said Wednesday. Potter met three of the victims through the fourth. The boys congregated in the Sandy Beach area in Glenburn near Potter’s home.

In August, Potter was indicted on and pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of sexually abusing four teenage boys between May 1998 and August 1999. The young men were between the ages of 14 and 15 when the incidents occurred.

Potter invited the boys to spend time with him at his home on Pushaw Lake in Glenburn, Clifford told the court. He gave them alcohol, showed them X-rated videos and then performed oral sex on them.

“I am sorry for what has happened, your honor,” Potter told the judge. “I do take responsibility, your honor. I just want to put this behind me.”

He did not apologize directly to his victims.

Defense attorney Norman Kominsky of Bangor told Mills that the incidents of abuse were related to Potter’s alcohol addiction. He said that Potter had been sober for the past nine months and been undergoing counseling since last summer.

Conditions of Potter’s probation include no contact with his victims or their families, no unsupervised contact with minors under the age of 18, no use of alcohol or drugs, no use of a computer or access to the Internet without permission, undergoing sexual offender counseling and registering as a sexual offender.

As of Wednesday, no civil suits against Potter had been filed in Penobscot County Superior Court.