A 22-year-old Lawrence man was sentenced to 14 months in prison for slipping a drug into the drinks of three Kansas University students last summer.

Michael Carpenter, a paraprofessional at Southwest Junior High at the time, apologized during his sentencing Thursday.

Carpenter originally was charged with giving the women the date rape drug gamma hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB. But when KBI lab results showed the women had the drug diazepam in their systems, the charges were changed.

Last month, Carpenter pleaded no contest to one count of distributing a controlled substance and three counts of aggravated battery. In exchange, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop four other charges, including attempted rape of one of the women, a 19-year-old.

The three students met Carpenter Aug. 28, 2002, at Cadillac Ranch, 2515 W. Sixth St. He invited the women to his house a few blocks away, according to one of the students.