AUBURN - An 18-year-old Oswego resident was sentenced in Cayuga County Court Thursday to five years probation and 100 hours of community service for his role in a Sterling arson.

Nicholas Matott, of 95 W. Albany St., was one of a group of boys that burned down an abandoned house on Grey Road last May. He pleaded guilty May 19 to a felony charge of fourth-degree arson.

"I am very sorry and never want to get in trouble again," Matott said before his sentencing.

Judge Peter Corning decided to treat Matott as a youthful offender, meaning that his conviction records will be sealed. Corning stressed that he wanted to see Matott finish his education.

"I don't view this as a particularly vicious act," Corning said. "I think this is a stupid boys-will-be-boys act."

But, he added, its consequences could have been "extremely serious."

Also in court

- Eric Austin, 27, of 250 Fire Lane No. 1, King Ferry, pleaded guilty to a felony count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a crime punishable by up to seven years in prison. Austin admitted to threatening to kill his girlfriend with a loaded shotgun Christmas Day 2004. He will be sentenced Aug. 25.

- Jerome Williams, 41, was granted a competency hearing for 10 a.m. Aug. 16. Williams had been sentenced to 7 1/2 to 15 years for three counts of aggravated harassment because he threw urine and feces on Auburn Correctional Facility officers. He requested a hearing to determine if he was competent at the time of his trial.

- Convicted sex offender James Videan, of New Hampshire, received a Level 2 rating for his risk assessment. Videan, 60, was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse for his July 6, 2002, actions at a Seventh Day Adventist camp in Springport, where he crawled into the bunk of a 13-year-old boy and fondled him. He received the middle-level rating and will have to register as a sex offender for at least 10 years after his release.

Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net