Ex-mayor pleads no contest to patronizing prostitute

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – A Pennsylvania mayor who resigned from office after he was charged with patronizing a prostitute has pleaded no contest in the case.

Former Bloomsburg Mayor Eric Bower was charged in April after prosecutors say he solicited sex from a state police informant. The informant told police Bower had paid her for sex before.

Bower pleaded no contest Wednesday. He was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $500. A judge also ordered the former mayor to undergo counselling and turned over his gun.

Bower, a Democrat, was elected in November. A day after his arrest, he called the charges a setup.

The mayor resigned last month. He also stepped down from his post as a state constable.