MADISON, Wis. - A former student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was accused of sexually assaulting and stalking female students was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison.
Twenty-two-year-old Alec Cook of Edina, Minn., pleaded guilty last February to five of the 21 counts he faced. His attorney says the guilty plea resolved all of the seven cases against him.
An emotional Cook made a statement in court, apologizing to his victims and their families.
"I'm sorry. I was wrong. You told the truth and everyone should believe you. This is my fault," he said before breaking down. "You didn't deserve this and neither did your families. To them, too, I'm so sorry."
Cook's parents, Arne and Jessica Cook of Edina, said in a letter to the judge Tuesday that they believe their son's accusers.
"What Mr. Cook did here is wrong, it was criminal," Dane County Judge Stephen Ehlke said. "It should not have occurred and these women should not have beared what has happened here."
Cook's defense attorneys aired grievances before the judge regarding the process leading up to the sentencing.
"The victims here have inconsistent and sometimes exculpatory statements," Cook's defense attorney Jessa Nicholson said. "The painful truth is that this case was overcharged and mishandled at virtually every stage of the proceedings."
The prosecution fired back, calling Nicholson's statement irrelevant to the sentencing.
"It has no place here at a sentencing hearing," the prosecutor said. "It's interesting but it has nothing to do with the decision the court has to make."
Cook was initially charged in 2016 with 12 counts of varying degrees of sexual assault involving six women, and other charges including stalking. Prosecutors and police say 11 women have been victims of sexual assault or harassment by Cook.
Cook will also serve 8 years supervised release, counseling and treatment following his prison sentence. After serving, he will be on the sex offender registry for another 15 years. He has been ordered no contact with the victims, the victims' families as well as the University of Wisconsin campuses.