Gaffney gets 51 months in prison


July 7, 2011 · Updated 5:32 PM 

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Michael J. Gaffney was sentenced to 51 months in prison last Friday for the March 2008 incident when he followed a 4-year-old girl into a Bainbridge Island Aquatics Center bathroom, took off her swimsuit and watched her use the bathroom.

Gaffney received the highest end of the sentencing range, which ranged from 38 to 51 months from Kitsap County Superior Court Judge M. Karlynn Haberly.

Gaffney was convicted of attempted first-degree child molestation and a predatory enhancement charge in May, and would have faced up to 25 years in prison.

Haberly dismissed the enhancement charges on June 17 saying that the law did not apply to molestation cases.

Gaffney is now a registered sex offender.

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