Former Great Falls Mayor Gayle Morris will spend a year behind bars after being sentenced on Thursday.
Morris was originally charged with running a prostitution ring out of Really Windy's Gentlemen's Club near Manchester, just west of Great Falls.
What started out as a change of plea hearing ended up as a sentencing; Morris originally faced felony charges but the state decided to amend those charges because of a lack of evidence.
The amended charges are accountability to prostitution and obstructing a peace officer, which are both misdemeanors.
Morris pleaded no contest to the charges, believing it's in his best interest for the case not to go to trial.
Dancers at the club were charged a fee to go on-stage and use the lap-dance room, but this applied to all dancers.
The state says some dancers engaged in sexual intercourse on the premises but that they couldn't prove Morris had knowledge of this.
Judge Thomas McKittrick says the county attorney was giving Morris a huge break by amending the charges.
The state had recommended a six-month suspended sentence for each charge, but McKittrick said the severity of the crime warranted jail time.
Along with a year in jail, Morris must also pay a $1,000 fine. Jun 3, 2010 kxlh.com
Are you fucking kidding me? A year in jail for two pissant misdemeanors?!
Yes, he'll only serve a few months of actual time, but that's a ridiculous sentence.