MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A lawyer for a man who was ordered to spend at least 60 days in prison for sexually assaulting a young girl says the sentence cannot legally be changed despite the outrage it spawned.

In court papers, Attorney Mark Kaplan wrote that the short jail term and long probation imposed on Mark Hulett by Judge Edward Cashman was similar to other sentences meted out by Vermont courts.

“The sentence in this case may not be popular, but the court cannot be swayed by the media or the mob,” Kaplan wrote.

Cashman has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on a prosecution motion to reconsider Hulett’s sentence, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Robert Simpson said Monday. He declined to comment on Kaplan’s argument.

Hulett’s Jan. 4 sentencing sparked an outcry, led by national cable television shows, with calls for Cashman to consider resigning.