A Bismarck man has been sentenced to six months in prison for indecent exposure.

South Central District Judge Donald Jorgensen on Tuesday sentenced Thomas Meadche to one year in jail with six months suspended and two years of supervised probation for the Class A misdemeanor indecent exposure conviction.

The maximum jail sentence for a Class Amisdemeanor is one year in jail.

Meadche was charged in September with the offense and was accused of masturbating in the presence of a 9-year-old girl in June 2007, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty in March to the offense.

Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Lloyd Suhr argued for the sentence handed down by Jorgensen. He said sex offender risk assessments showed Meadche to be a high risk to reoffend, a point vehemently disputed by Meadche's appointed defense attorney, Todd Schwarz.

Schwarz said Meadche's risk level was calculated incorrectly on two evaluations because of inaccurate and incomplete information about Meadche's juvenile criminal history and the indecent exposure incident. He said Meadche would be considered a moderate risk to reoffend if adjustments were made.

Suhr stood by the evaluations and the observances of a probation officer who conducted a presentence investigation.

"I've never seen a defendant with a high score who comes back and agrees with it," he countered.

Prosecutors may try to have Meadche civilly committed as a dangerous sexual offender, Suhr said. "We can't have him on the streets potentially victimizing someone else," he said.

Schwarz said Meadche's actions were unintentional.

"It was not his intent to be a flasher," he said.

Meadche apologized to spectators in the courtroom for his actions.

Jorgensen said he was troubled by Meadche's actions.

"What bothers me about the fact is that you're even in the bedroom of a 9-year-old girl when you don't belong there," the judge said.

Jorgensen ordered Meadche to begin serving his sentence at the Burleigh County Detention Center on Thursday.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)