BENNINGTON — A defendant’s plea agreement in a child sexual abuse materials case was given the go-ahead on the third attempt when a Bennington judge hesitantly accepted the deal.

Caleb Cox, 35, was sentenced to a 2- to 10-year sentence, all suspended, except for 177 days, split to serve, which had already been completed. He will also be on probation for 10 years and be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Cox pleaded guilty to two felony counts of possessing child sexual abuse images during a change of plea last spring. However, the judge in the case had serious reservations about the leniency of the sentence and had rejected the deal twice before due to concerns about the lack of community-based treatment programs, which a pre-sentencing report had identified as necessar

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