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Hofer gets probation in child sex assault
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DARLINGTON - A Blanchardville man charged with sexually assaulting a child in 2015 was sentenced to two years of probation Wednesday after his charges were reduced.

Phillip Alan Hofer, 44, Blanchardville, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of battery and lewd and lascivious behavior after a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child was amended at a plea hearing Wednesday.

Hofer was charged after an incident in October 2015 when, while he was intoxicated, he reportedly touched the genitals of an underage boy.

The victim also reported that Hofer had physically abused him in the past, saying Hofer had punched him in the stomach multiple times and had choked him.

Before Hofer's charge was amended, his attorney, Timothy Angel, submitted several motions to the court to examine the mental health of the victim, with an expert witness on mental disorders scheduled to testify.

Angel and Green County District Attorney Craig Nolen proposed a joint recommendation of two years of probation with a conditional 60-day jail term. Green County Circuit Judge James Beer accepted the proposal and ordered that Hofer's jail term begin May 19.