PARIS – A 39-year-old Paris man was given a suspended sentence Wednesday following a plea to unlawful sexual contact.

Andrew Burt, of 466 Elm Hill Road, was accused of touching the 9-year-old girl over her clothing in August. He was ordered by Justice Robert Crowley to serve a fully suspended 364-day jail sentence, one year of probation, and to register for 10 years as a sex offender.

Burt was indicted in November on charges of Class C unlawful sexual contact and Class D unlawful sexual touching, but pleaded earlier this month to an informational count of misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact.

According to an affidavit by officer Raymond Paar of the Paris Police Department, Burt said he did touch the girl, but only to teach her what to do if someone touched her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.

Two letters, from the girl and her mother, were read as Burt appeared in Oxford County Superior Court.

“You should spend a long time in jail because for us to go to court was bad enough,” the girl wrote.

“The scars you have left on my family will not go away anytime soon,” wrote the girl’s mother.

Burt is forbidden from contact with girls under the age of 16, but was allowed to have supervised contact with two girls. Defense attorney John Jenness Jr. said Burt is moving to Monmouth to live with her sister and her 15-year-old niece, and a five-year-old girl visits the residence once a year.