An 18-year-old Tonganoxie man has been placed on supervised probation and cannot have unsupervised contact with females who are minors, a Leavenworth County District Court Judge ruled Friday in Leavenworth.

Judge Michael Gibbens ruled that Nick M. Pursel be placed under those conditions in the sexual battery case involving Pursel and a Tonganoxie female, but delayed a decision on whether Pursel would be registered as a sex offender. Pursel gave a no-contest plea earlier this summer.

When the incident occurred nearly a year ago, both were Tonganoxie High School students and both were under the age of 18. Because of this, the Leavenworth County attorney’s office has released little information on the case.

Both the parents of the victim, as well as Pursel, had opportunities to speak during Friday’s sentencing.

The parents of the victim said that their family members’ lives have changed dramatically during the past year. Her mother said their family had left the church they were attending because Pursel’s family also attended the church. In addition, her daughter had attended Tonganoxie schools since preschool and has since transferred out because of the incident.

Pursel apologized to his former classmate and her family and then explained that he’s regularly been seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist and has had his medication adjusted. He’s also joined the church youth group and attends Sex Addicts Anonymous sessions.

Gibbens instructed both the prosecution and defense to submit briefs by Sept. 30 to make their cases whether Pursel should be registered as a sex offender. Gibbens then will make a determination at a date to be determined.

Asked Friday whether Pursel currently was a student at Tonganoxie High School, USD 464 Superintendent Randy Weseman said, “I can confirm that he has been a student and currently exists in our student database.”

He declined to comment further.