The story began with a tragic case of sexual abuse and seemingly ended with a guilty plea in a Vermont courtroom. Thirty-four-year old Mark Hulett pled guilty to aggravated sexual assault on his close friend's daughter. The attacks occurred from the time she was six years old until she turned ten. In front of Judge Edward Cashman, prosecutor Nicole Andreson asked that Hulett be sentenced to 8-20 years in prison, but on January 4th, Judge Cashman surprised everyone there by sentencing him to only 60 days in jail and ordered him to complete sex offender treatment after his release. At the hearing, Cashman explained, "...[punishment] accomplishes nothing of value... and it costs us a lot of money." Hulett will be out in 2 months.

The Factor called Cashman's office on January 5th, but the Judge declined to speak to us. Bill O'Reilly sent me to Burlington, VT on Sunday morning to try to talk to him in person. My crew and I parked outside of his house at 6:30am and waited for him to wake up. A police car pulled up an hour later and approached our van. "What are you guys doing?" the cop asked. I explained that we were from Fox News and we were waiting for an interview. It was obvious the officer already knew we were there to see the judge. "Some of the neighbors called and said a suspicious van was parked outside so I came to check it out. Are you local or national Fox News?" I said we were national and the officer smiled and drove away.

At about 9:00am, we saw Cashman peeking out of the 2nd floor window at us. A few minutes later, he opened his door to grab the paper; I announced I was from the O'Reilly Factor, there to discuss the case. He ducked back inside and slammed the door. "He won't talk to you?" a voice behind me said. I turned around and noticed the judge's neighbor standing on his porch. "He should be struck from the bench for letting that pervert loose," yelled the neighbor.

I knocked on Cashman's door for a few minutes, but he still wouldn't come out. I finally phoned him and explained I wasn't going away. He reconsidered, and stepped outside in his sweatsuit. In front of our cameras, he said he couldn't talk to the media about the case because "the case was still pending." "Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee?" he asked. I was surprised at the invitation but went in.

When I got into the judge's living room, his phone rang. When the judge didn't answer the phone, his answering machine went on and a message started playing out loud: "This message is for Judge Cashman. You've got to hope none of your daughters ever get hurt and I hope they never get a judge like you. Because it's unbelievable to let a rapist of children go. You're just a despicable man. May you rot in hell." Everyone in the room fell silent. Cashman and I just stared at each other. He then began to explain himself.

"Eight out of ten people that come into criminal court just did some stupid thing and got caught," he said. "They're embarrassed as hell and they just want to get out of there as quickly as possible. You know the type because you saw them in high school. They're into drugs, into alcohol, have multiple children from multiple relationships... but you need to have empathy. Reasonable people some times make irrational decisions. We all do it. It's not an 'us against them' mentality anymore. At one point in my career I was all about 'just desserts.' It may feel good to knock someone over the head with a 2x4 like John Wayne but it's not productive."

Cashman continued, "I don't mean to get biblical, but you can see it in their eyes. I've been a judge for a long time and you can tell who's scary and who just made a mistake. Locking everyone up is expensive. We're all in this together." I asked him if he agreed with Jessica's Law, a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for first time felony sex crime convictions against minors, and he replied, "No... there are too many dimensions and gradations to molestation cases. It's a bad idea."

I thanked him for the coffee and left the house. Then I drove to downtown Burlington to talk to some local folks about the case. Eleven out of twelve people we asked thought the sentence was outrageous. "I'm pregnant and due in June. I honestly fear for my baby's life," said one woman. An angry man huffed, "A typical decision for Vermont." But one lady agreed with the judge's decision. "I thought his statement at the hearing was eloquent and progressive," she said. "He's right on."

We reviewed the facts Monday morning in the newsroom. I booked Vermont state Senator Wendy Wilton (R) and former sex crimes prosecutor Wendy Murphy to discuss the case with O'Reilly on The Factor. That night, we played something Judge Cashman said at the sentencing hearing: "...to encourage in victims of crime, retribution, as the only response, one, we're not following legislative directives, two, we're wasting state money, and three, we're not solving problems." The Factor called Cashman "the worst judge in America," said the judge's explanation was "unbelievable" and called for him to "step down" from the bench. State Senator Wendy Wilton agreed and said she hoped Cashman was impeached.

The next day, all hell broke loose in Vermont. State Rep. Kurt Wright (R) introduced a resolution that called for Cashman to resign, and other legislators called for the judge's impeachment. But on January 11th, House Speaker Gaye Symington (D) would not let the resignation resolution be voted on. She sent it to committee and it's unclear when, if ever, it'll be brought to a vote.

Vermont Governor Jim Douglas (R) stated, "A criminal court judge who no longer believes in punishment should consider a career change or retirement." But Judge Cashman filed an order with the court and stuck by his 60 day sentence. "...I am aware that the intensity of some public criticism may shorten my judicial career. To change my decision now, however, simply because of some negative sentiment, would be wrong. I owe it to the judiciary and to my own conscience to maintain a stand that I believe is the best possible option in a very difficult situation."

Under Vermont law, only repeat sex offenders, people who molest their own children or those with prior criminal records, can receive sex offender treatment while in prison. Since Mark Hulett didn't fall under these categories, he was deemed "low-risk" and wasn't eligible for in-prison treatment. Cashman said since Hulett wouldn't receive in-prison treatment, he should serve only 60 days. The judge wrote if Hulett spent a long time in prison without treatment, he'd eventually come out a "hardened, untreated sex offender" who would be "alienated from the fundamental social values we are trying to promote." Cashman said the 8 years sought by the prosecutor was "self-defeating." He believed giving Hulett only 60 days would allow him to begin treatment immediately upon release. This approach would "respect the dignity" of Hulett so he could "achieve [his] successful return" to the community. The judge wrote that his sentence "respects the individuality of the defendant," who "stands before the court as a human being, not as a stereotype." Cashman called his sentence "a fair and rational approach to provide Mr. Hulett with a meaningful opportunity to reform." Cashman also concluded that his sentence saves the state money: "If a well supervised probation scheme, with a much reduced cost, can protect us as well as close custody incarceration can, this option should be available."

The story doesn't end there. On January 11th, the state of Vermont offered to provide sex offender treatment in prison to Mark Hulett so that Judge Cashman would have no excuse not to impose a lengthier sentence. And while Cashman may or may not reconsider, he now faces calls for his resignation from the largest newspaper in the state. The prosecutor is asking the judge to reconsider his sentence this Friday.

The Factor will continue its reporting.

Jesse Watters has been a producer for The OReilly Factor since 2003. Before joining Fox News, Watters worked on political campaigns and in finance. He received a B.A. in History from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) in 2001. Watters was born and raised in Philadelphia and moved to New York in 1995.