Former Soldier And 'Jedi Council' Leader Hastings Fredrickson Sentenced To 15 Months In Jail

Hastings Fredrickson, a former Afghanistan war veteran who was identified as the ringleader of the so-called Jedi Council sex ring, was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Monday. However, Fredrickson, who had pleaded guilty in August, may not have to spend all his time behind bars, media reports said.

Fredrickson, a former Australian Defence Force contractor, had pleaded guilty to distributing emails in July 2012 with details of his sexual encounters and photos and videos of his encounter with a woman to 12 other officers of the group. The emails were reportedly captioned with "degrading" and "humiliating" phrases, Judge Paul Lakatos, said in Sydney on Monday, according to ABC News.

"Women are entitled to engage in sexual relations without fear my conduct in the bedroom is shared," Lakatos said, according to Sydney Morning Herald, reading from the victim's statement. "Women are not objects for you to play around with ... we are the bearers of your children, we deserve your respect."

In August, Fredrickson had pleaded guilty to three counts of using a carriage service to cause offence after his lawyer said he had sent only three of the six emails, ABC News reported. The other three counts for the same charge were later dropped. The scandal had also led to many people getting fired, arrested and charged in November 2013. Lakatos said Fredrickson's actions were calculated and doubted whether the latter was genuinely remorseful.

Fredrickson currently remains on bail and has another hearing scheduled for next month, which will decide whether he can serve his sentence through the way of an intensive correction order, Sky News reported. If granted, he may serve part of his term in the community and not fully in prison.