This story was updated at 11:59 p.m. EST.
ORLANDO — Former NASA
astronaut Lisa Nowak avoided prison time after pleading guilty today to two
lesser charges: felony burglary of a conveyance and a misdemeanor battery.
The Navy captain had been
facing charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and attempted burglary of a car with assault.
She was accused of
confronting her
romantic rival, Colleen Shipman, in the parking lot of Orlando
International Airport in February 2007 after driving from Houston. Shipman had
begun dating Nowak's love interest, former space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein.
"I am sincerely sorry for causing
fear and misunderstanding and all the intense public exposure that you have
suffered," Nowak said in a brief statement to Shipman in the courtroom,
adding that she hoped they could move forward with "privacy and
peace."
Judge Marc Lubet withheld
adjudication of the charges, but sentenced Nowak to a year of supervised
probation.
She was also sentenced to
two days of jail, which she's already served, community service and ordered to
take an eight-hour anger management class.
The judge said Nowak must
have no contact with Shipman or Oefelein, other than a letter of apology she
was ordered to write to Shipman within 10 days.
Before the sentencing,
Shipman told the judge that the attack forever changed
her life.
Shipman said her life since
the attack is "unrecognizable." She suffers from anxiety and
nightmares, and has purchased a shotgun, she said.
"Nothing has
worked," said Shipman.
Lubet warned Nowak that the
judgment might affect her Navy career and her retirement.
"But you brought this
on yourself, and I don't have any sympathy for you in that respect," he
said.
He also emphasized that she
was not being treated differently than any other defendant facing the same
charges to which she plead. And in sentencing her, the judge said he took into
account the fact that Nowak had no prior criminal history and the steps she has
made to rehabilitate herself after her arrest, including undergoing counseling.
Nowak flew as a mission
specialist on Discovery in July 2006, a 13-day Return to Flight mission that
tested new safety procedures and performed maintenance on the International
Space Station.
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