A man who contacted the victim of a 1984 sexual assault to apologize as part of his 12-step recovery program has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the crime he committed as a college student.

The Associated Press reported March 15 that William Beebe, 42, wrote a letter to Liz Seccuro in 2005 apologizing for sexually assaulting her when Seccuro was a University of Virginia student. Beebe said he reached out to his victim as part of making amends under his Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program.

Seccuro said that while she forgave Beebe, he still deserved to be punished for his acts. Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Edward Hogshire agreed, giving Beebe a 10-year prison sentence with all but 18 months suspended; Beebe will only have to serve the shorter term as long as he completes 500 hours of community service on the subject of alcohol abuse and sexual assault on campus.

Prosecutors, who wanted a two-year sentence for Beebe, portrayed his decision to contact Seccuro as selfish, and said it traumatized the victim all over again. But the judge said that he believed Beebe was remorseful and had become a leader in the addiction recovery movement.