A man set to go to trial Tuesday on a sex abuse charge instead pleaded guilty in Baldwin County Circuit Court. Thomas Iddings, 29, received a 10-year sentence from Judge J. Langford Floyd for first-degree sex abuse, which was replaced by time already served and three years of probation, a court official said. He also agreed to mental health counseling, according to his attorney J. Clark Stankoski.
Iddings, who jail records listed as a resident of Troy, Texas, was originally charged with sex abuse of a child less that 12 years old. He has been released from the Baldwin County Corrections Center, records show.
"Mr. Iddings didn’t want to put the victim through a trial, so he agreed to take mental health counseling, probation, and register as a sex offender, in exchange for a suspended sentence," Stankoski said in an email. "Under the circumstances, we feel justice was served in this case, even though some may think he received a ‘slap on the wrist.’"
The first-degree sex abuse charge carries a sentence of one to 10 years with no mandatory minimum, unlike like the original charge, which has a mandatory minimum 10 years to serve, according to Stankoski.
The incident occurred in the latter half of 2009 while Iddings was staying in Baldwin County and involved a girl who was acquainted with him, Stankoski said.
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