U.S. | Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:59pm EDT

Massachusetts judge under fire for sentence in sex assault case

Women's groups and social media users on Tuesday criticized as too lenient the two years' probation given to a Massachusetts student athlete who sexually assaulted two women as they slept, likening it to a recent California case that also raised a firestorm.

David Becker, 18, a former three-sport athlete from East Longmeadow High School in western Massachusetts, escaped jail time even though prosecutors recommended a two-year sentence.

Becker admitted in court last week to sexually assaulting two 18-year-old women as they slept after a party, and an initial charge of rape was amended to indecent assault and battery, according to court records. Becker also agreed to undergo treatment and evaluation as a sex offender and submit to drug and alcohol screenings for two years.

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"We all made mistakes when we were 17, 18, 19 years old, and we shouldn't be branded for life with a felony offense and branded a sex offender," Rooke said in court, as reported by The Republican newspaper. "Putting this kid in jail for two years would have destroyed this kid's life."

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