Instead of convicting Chicago police sergeant Dennis Barnes, 63, on the charges of felony attempted predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, Judge Charles Burns convicted him of the lesser charge of misdemeanor battery and the officer's only punishment will be "up to two years" of sex offender counseling and 60 days in jail. Barnes will also undergo an evaluation to determine if he has pedophile tendencies.

"I don't believe this was incidental contact," the judge himself stated. "I don't believe it was an accident."

Judge Burns also admitted that "something was going on, and that's something that I find disturbing."

Prosecutors had asserted that Barnes had been "grooming" the young girl, after her mother, who is also a Chicago police officer, invited him to her home for a barbecue. While at the child's home, he had began massaging the young child's feet and legs, and then reached into her shorts. Luckily, the girl's mother walked in and the child began to cry and tell her what Barnes had done.