(ABC 6 News) —  A Chatfield man accused of sexually assaulting two children in 2014, 2016, and 2017 was sentenced Wednesday, after he pleaded guilty to two of six criminal sexual conduct charges in Olmsted County Court.

Kenneth Archer Holt, 43, was sentenced to 364 days in prison or a treatment program, which he would be required to start within thirty days of his sentencing.

Holt was also sentenced to 25 years of probation, and under his probation he will be required to register as a predatory offender, and attend a sex offender program.

If Holt violates his probation, he will be required to serve up to four years in prison at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud.

Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said the sentences can seem backwards, but rehabilitation for offenders can take longer than a maximum penalty and still keep the community safe.

“When somebody goes off to prison, they’re not required to do anything, except be there. When somebody is on probation, they have a lot of very strict requirements,” Ostrem said.

Strict requirements — including curfews treatments and supervision for sex offenders — is what keeps the community safe, according to Ostrem.

“Our ability to change behaviors, our ability to keep or community safe is actually in some cases stronger if we keep them local in our community under supervision, as opposed to sending them off to prison, when we know in forty-eight months they’re coming back completely untreated,” Ostrem said.

In Minnesota, probation sentences are capped at five years for most crimes, but things change when it comes to sex offenses.

Ostrem said a long probationary term — like the one given to Holt — is based on a “two to three year” year sex offender treatment program, along with supervision afterwards.

“The idea is that the amount of community services that people in those positions generally need is going to take a lot longer than just that typical two to five years,” Ostrem said.

The county works with parole officers to keep track of sex offenders — and if they see violations, Ostrem said they take steps, including sending them to prison, to correct their behavior.

“It’s not unusal for people to struggle initially on probation until they finally understand that we’re serious and so we do some corrective measures in there. But for the most part, we’re pretty successfu keeping the community and victims safe,” Ostrem said.