BOSTON -- A Vermont man who admitted to repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl was sentenced Thursday to 60 days in prison.

NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported that Mark Hulett, 34, of Williston, Vt., pleaded guilty in August to two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one charge of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

"I'm sorry to the family," Hulett said.

He asked Judge Edward Cashman for rehabilitation instead of prison.

"Like I said, I want to get the treatment. I need it," Hulett said.

Hulett's guilty plea meant that he could have been sentenced to life in prison, but state Department of Corrections officials considered him a low risk for committing a similar crime. They would not offer him sex-offender treatment if he went to prison.

Cashman decided that a two-month sentence and long-term sex offender treatment would be better than locking him away from society for a long time.

"I'm not doing this for the family. I'm taking the long view," Cashman said.

The victim's doctor and family members wanted him to stay in prison for the rest of his life.

"This is something that she will never recover from," said Dr. Joseph Hagan, the victim's doctor.

"The thought of my niece enduring this … she's a prisoner in her own home. She has to fear going to bed at night," the victim's aunt said.

Hulett will have to spend the rest of his life on probation. If he fails to get court-ordered counseling after his 60 days in jail, he could still be sent to prison for life.

Some state senators want to take away judicial discretion with similar sex offender cases.