MACHIAS – A 23-year-old gross sexual misconduct case ended abruptly Monday when a former Columbia Falls man entered a no contest plea in Washington County Superior Court.

The case was scheduled for trial Tuesday.

George T. Bowers, 65, who had been living in Pennsylvania for the past 20 years, first appeared in court last September after the grand jury had charged him with two counts of gross sexual misconduct. He had been extradited back to the state on Sept. 6, 2006.

The gross sexual misconduct happened over a period of time ending in 1984 and involved a girl who was under the age of 14. Bowers had been living with the girl’s mother.

Although Bowers could have been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, under the terms of the plea agreement he was sentenced to 15 years in prison with all but three years suspended. He was placed on six years of probation with numerous conditions including that he have no contact with the victim.

First Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said Monday that the victim asked the judge to turn the plea agreement down.

“The victim made a powerful statement about how this affected her having been abused so frequently as a kid from first through fourth grade and his payment, if you will, was enough money to go buy a single candy bar,” Cavanaugh said. “She remembered when the prices changed and she got paid more.”

Cavanaugh said the victim described how the abuse had affected her and the years she had battled depression, thoughts of suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder. She also recounted the number of times she had been in the hospital.

After listening to the victim’s statement, Judge Andrew Horton sentenced Bowers to prison.