BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – Judge Edward Cashman, under fire for sentencing a man to 60 days in prison for sexually abusing a child, said Thursday he would impose a prison term of three to 10 years.

The judge said he could now impose the longer sentence because the state has agreed to provide treatment to Mark Hulett while he is behind bars. Originally the state had said such treatment would not come until Hulett was released.

In the two weeks since the original sentence Cashman has been vilified by television commentators, bloggers and even the governor who say he was too light on the crime.

Hulett, 34, had pleaded guilty to charges that he had sexual contact with a girl during a four-year period beginning when she was 6.

At his original sentencing, Cashman said the best way to ensure public safety was to get Hulett out of prison so he could receive sex offender treatment. Because the Corrections Department concluded that Hulett wasn’t likely to reoffend, he wouldn’t be eligible to receive sex-offender treatment until he reached the end of his prison term.

After Cashman announced the sentence, Gov. James Douglas called for the judge to resign and several lawmakers suggested he be impeached. On Fox News, Bill O’Reilly told viewers as video of Cashman rolled: “You may be looking at the worst judge in the USA.”

In his order Thursday, the judge remained firm in his original belief that sentences must be concerned with more than just punishment.

“The court agrees a punitive response – punishment – is a valuable and necessary component of society’s response to criminal conduct,” he said. “It is a tool that the court has routinely used for the past 24 years on the trial bench. As stated during the sentencing hearing, however, punishment is not enough of a response in some cases.

“This is one of those cases,” he said.

Hulett and his lawyer accepted the longer sentence. Under the original agreement, Hulett could have opted for a trial if a jail term of more than 90 days was imposed.