Oskaloosa ? Following state guidelines, a Jefferson County district judge on Thursday sentenced a man to probation for an attack on his estranged wife last May.

The sentence came after the victim – Jennie Schmidt – criticized how Jefferson County Attorney Mike Hayes handled the case.

“He should absolutely get the max, but it should have gone to trial,” Jennie Schmidt testified about her estranged husband, Chris Schmidt. “He should have been held accountable for raping me.”

The case

Chris Schmidt was arrested on sexual assault charges in May after an incident at the couple’s former home outside Perry. Hayes had said in a letter the original charges of rape, sodomy and kidnapping would be difficult to prove. Last fall, Hayes and the defendant reached an agreement in which Chris Schmidt was allowed to plead no contest to aggravated battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property.

Although her husband pleaded no contest to tying her to a bed and battering her, Jennie Schmidt said he was much more violent. She also possessed a clinical note from Lawrence Memorial Hospital that lists pictures of her injuries taken by Jefferson County Sheriff’s investigators.

The punishment

Because he has no criminal history, Chris Schmidt was ordered to get a mental health evaluation as part of his 18-month probation term. If he fails to comply with his probation, he faces eight months in prison. He also was ordered to pay more than $850, including court costs.

Judge Gary Nafziger also ordered Chris Schmidt to have no contact with his estranged wife.

Chris Schmidt’s attorney, Tom Bath, said many of Jennie Schmidt’s allegations in court were “a lot of things which are unknown.”

Bath defended Hayes’ record as a prosecutor and how he and law officers handled the case.

“This wasn’t something he just rushed into or did recklessly,” Bath said.

In court

Chris and Jennie Schmidt have an ongoing divorce proceeding. Two days after the attack, she also filed a civil case against him seeking payment for her medical care. That case is pending.

Bath also represents Chris Schmidt in that case. During Thursday’s sentencing, Hayes mentioned his correspondence with Jennie Schmidt’s former attorney, James Rumsey, through the early days of both the criminal and civil cases. Hayes said he advised Rumsey that he would not interview Jennie Schmidt because Hayes didn’t want to become a witness in a domestic or civil case.

Hayes said he told Rumsey that she could speak with law enforcement officers, who could write a report, if she needed to add to her statement. Hayes also said his office did not receive phone calls from Jennie Schmidt after Rumsey withdrew as her attorney last June.

‘Incredibly unjust’

Jennie Schmidt has said she tried to involve the Kansas Attorney General’s office in the case, and she voiced her frustration with how Hayes handled things. She said she feared that Chris Schmidt was going to kill her and then commit suicide during the attack, and she said she still feared for herself and their three young children.

“It’s incredibly unjust. It’s sad that victims have to endure that after they’ve already been treated so violently, and they are absolutely helpless,” Jennie Schmidt said after the sentencing.

Bath said Chris Schmidt was looking forward to proving the allegations false during the pending civil case. He also said it was unusual for someone to file criminal and civil lawsuits within days of each other.

Bath said Chris Schmidt considered going to trial, but he weighed the offer of probation against the risk of serving 40 years in prison.

“A plea bargain of probation was hard for an innocent man to turn down,” he said.