WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Bethel man will serve 18 months in prison and be required to complete sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender under a sentence handed down in court after he pleaded guilty to a charge of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor.

Scott Benoit, 47, was sentenced to two to 12 years in prison — all suspended except for 18 months — with conditions and placed on probation for five years during his sentencing hearing in Windsor County Superior Court on Tuesday. Benoit was initially charged in 2020 with multiple counts of sexual abuse of a minor beginning in 2016.

“I recognize what I’ve done is wrong … I want to take responsibility,” Benoit said in a brief statement to the court.

After reviewing the defendant’s pre-sentencing investigation report and psycho-sexual evaluation, Windsor County Superior Court Judge John Treadwell said he concluded that the “sentence structure is appropriate” and “probation conditions are stringent” and that Benoit could face significantly longer incarceration should he break any of the terms.

Benoit must present himself “sober, drug free and with photo ID” to Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vt., by 5 p.m. on Sept. 5 to begin his incarceration, Treadwell ordered.