First Sentence of Admissions Scandal: 1 Day in Prison

The first person has been sentenced in the sweeping college admissions bribery scandal, and he is not headed to prison. Former Stanford head sailing coach John Vandemoer pleaded guilty in March to charges that he helped students get into the university as "recruited athletes" in exchange for money for his sailing program; on Wednesday, he was sentenced to one day in prison, which he was deemed to have already served. He was also fined $10,000 and will serve two years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, per the AP.

US District Court Judge Rya Zobel said it was important to punish Vandemoer because "it's too easy to do this kind of thing," but said he was probably the "least culpable" of all those charged in Operation Varsity Blues since he did not take any of the money for himself, and thus she did not feel he needed to serve time behind bars. Prosecutors had sought 13 months behind bars, NBC News reports, arguing that a "slap on the wrist" would be encouragement to others who are considering cheating the college admissions system. An emotional Vandemoer apologized to his family, friends, Stanford, and the sailing team during the hearing. (More college admissions bribery scandal stories.)