COQUILLE, Ore. (AP) — An 18-year-old student whose arrest for having sex with a 14-year-old girl ignited protests at their high school has been sentenced to 30 days in the Coos County Jail.

Marcus Beckett was arrested in March on charges of rape and sodomy after the girl accused him of forcing her to have sex at his Coos Bay home. Beckett ended up pleading guilty last month to sexual abuse, acknowledging he had sex with the girl, who is below the age of consent in Oregon.

"Let's not forget, she was 14. She's just a kid," Coos County Judge Michael Gillespie said Thursday. "She may have looked like Jessica Simpson, for all I know, but she's a kid."

Prosecutor Richard Tovey said Beckett, a senior, flirted with the victim by way of a game played with their cell phones. Beckett then removed some clothing from both of them. According to Tovey, the victim said she didn't want to continue, but Beckett went ahead and had sex with her. The girl then went to police.

Beckett's lawyer, David Terry, presented a different story, saying the sexual encounter was at the girl's urging. Terry said the girl gave Beckett a "big hug" before she left, even though she was frustrated by Beckett's sexual inexperience.

"She was, by everyone's account, 14 going on 25," Terry said. "A very beautiful girl, attractive, well-developed physically."

The arrest ignited a series of protests at Marshfield High School, mostly in support of Beckett. Some students wore T-shirts that read "I love Marcus" and "Set him free" before administrators told them to change.

Gillespie also sentenced Beckett to three years probation, and the young man must complete a sex offender treatment program and register as a sex offender for at least 10 years.

"I don't think you are a bad person," the judge told Beckett. "I think you made a stupid mistake and it was a crime.

"We all resist the temptation to do stupid things every day. I'm sure you have in hundreds of other circumstances. But you didn't choose to do that in one that has a Draconian effect on you for the rest of your life."

(Copyright 2009 The Associated Press)