AUBURN - A 16-year-old buried his face in his hands and sobbed quietly as he was sentenced to six months in Cayuga County Jail.

Paul J. Driscoll, with a last known address of 3 Sheridan St., Auburn, was sentenced to six months in jail and 5 years probation in Cayuga County Court Thursday. He pleaded guilty in June to burglarizing eight residences in Auburn and Owasco from Nov. 29 to Dec. 18, 2006.

Driscoll apologized for his actions. "I know what I did was wrong," Driscoll said. "I was very scared and I didn't know what to do."

Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann argued for a sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison based upon not only the string of burglaries, but also his juvenile record, reflecting a past burglary and assault and a juvenile delinquent status.

"He's had a number of bites at the apple," he said. "He had a number of chances to wake up and stop the behavior."

Defense attorney Richard Mitchell asked the court for probation, citing Driscoll's age, status as a special needs student and his familial background - his parents are separated - as mitigation.

"He's 16 years old, your honor," Mitchell said. "He's a child."

Judge Thomas Leone, who had said that this was one of the hardest decisions he has had to make during his eight months on the bench, dismissed probation as a "slap on the wrist" and state jail time as too harsh a punishment.

"I want to put you in jail for a year and then probation, but I'm not authorized to do that," he said, adding that it was either six months and probation or one year in the county jail or up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Citizen.