An ISU student accused of vandalizing the “Ring of Life” sculpture was ordered Monday to pay restitution and serve five years of probation. The sentencing was held at the Story County Courthouse in Nevada.District Court Judge Dale E. Ruigh deferred judgment for Nick Johnson, senior in management information systems, ruling that Johnson pay restitution to University Museums in the amount of $36,662, the approximate restoration cost for the damaged statue. The judge said this amount may change once the statue is fully repaired and may be more or less than the approximated amount.Unless he violates his probation conditions, Johnson will not have a felony conviction on his record under the deferred judgment sentence. He is enrolled at Iowa State this semester with a deferred suspension.Johnson’s probation will include serving 200 hours of unpaid community service, upholding the law, paying parole-enrollment fees and court-case fees among other things, Ruigh said.Johnson pleaded guilty to criminal mischief in the first degree, a class C felony, in December. He was sentenced for his connection to the stolen child-statue head from the Christian Petersen sculpture on Sept. 14 in MacKay Hall. While on the stand, Johnson admitted he hit the statue once with his hand after getting a drink in the hall.”I just made a stupid mistake,” he said in his closing arguments before the judge. “I’m sorry.”Steve Holmes, prosecuting attorney for Story County, argued for a fine and a suspended probation for Johnson. This sentence would have given Johnson a felony on his record, which Holmes argued was appropriate because the incident was not a prank. Holmes also pushed for a fine and suspended probation because of the threat it caused to public art on campus and the changing testimony of Theresa Hedrick, Johnson’s fiancee.Hedrick, senior in marketing, told Department of Public Safety officers that Johnson had hit the statue more than once, but during a later testimony on Monday she said he’d only pushed it once.Johnson’s lawyer, Mark Olberding, called the incident a “stupid act,” and said a felony conviction would not be appropriate to rehabilitate him.”Mr. Johnson is going to think and think before he even decides to speed,” Olberding said and asked the judge to err on the side of mercy.Holmes said after the decision was made that he wasn’t upset with the judge’s ruling.”I think the judge’s decision is a good decision,” he said. “I never quarrel with reasoning of the court.”Lynette Pohlman, director of University Museums, said she had no comment about the verdict.