A Carbon County judge rejected a plea agreement which indicated the prosecution was not opposed to a probation sentence for a Lansford man on an indecent assault charge and instead sentenced him to a short county prison term.

Steven Douglas Evans, 29, was sentenced to serve 30 days to one day less 24 months in prison on the charge. He previously pleaded guilty.Judge Joseph J. Matika expressed his displeasure with the fact when Evans was interviewed by the adult probation office for the preparation of a presentence investigation report, he denied he committed the crime. Matika also said he was concerned that Evans attempted to blame the victim, saying she was lying about what happened.Matika told Evans when interviewing for a PSI report it gives a defendant a chance to show his good points and to try to paint a better picture of himself. Matika said, "You put the blame on the victim."Defense attorney Paul Levy, of the public defender's office, said Evans had mental health issues and has some difficulty understanding.He added, "He knows enough to plead guilty but he does have issues."Matika said he would not go along with the two-year probation period in the plea bargain, saying Evans "had to get the point he violated the victim."Nesquehoning police charged Evans for an incident on Dec. 15, 2012. Police said Evans was watching the children of a friend when he inappropriately touched a then 10-year-old girl.The charge falls under the provisions of Megan's Law and Evans was evaluated by the state sexual assessment board and was determined not to be a sexual violent predator. Because of that, he will have to register as a sexual offender for the next 15 years, but not lifetime registration if he had been determined to be a sexual violent predator.The case was continued a total of 17 times before Evans finally entered a plea.Matika also ordered Evans to render 100 hours of community service when released from prison, get a mental health evaluation, submit to a sexual offenders evaluation, pay court costs of about $1,000, pay a $50 per month supervision while on parole and have no contact with the victim.He began the jail term immediately.