Actor Bairstow sentenced to 4 months for rape of girl

EVERETT — Television and motion-picture actor Scott Bairstow was sentenced this afternoon to four months in jail after entering an Alford plea last month to a charge of having sex with a 12-year-old Mukilteo girl.

An Alford plea is a form of guilty plea and has the same legal effect as a guilty plea. In making such a plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes that if the case went to trial, a jury would likely find him guilty.

Bairstow was given credit for the time he has already spent behind bars and has 37 days left to fulfill his sentence.

Bairstow, 33, who used to live in Mukilteo, was charged with second-degree child rape in May after allegedly having sex with the girl between January and October 1998 when she was 12. The sexual relationship continued until summer 2001, according to charging papers.

Prosecutors say Bairstow repeatedly told the girl that if she told anyone about their relationship, he would lose his family. He also made the comments during a police-taped telephone conversation, documents allege.

Bairstow is best known for roles in television's "Party of Five"and the motion pictures "The Postman" and "White Fang II: Myth of the White Wolf."