Police charged John Pattee, 48, with four counts of second-degree sexual assault in November 2009 when four women accused him of groping them after he'd been drinking at one of his bars. At the time of his arrest, he owned the Avenue Bar and the Gaslight Lounge. He was arrested at the Avenue Bar.
Pattee pleaded not guilty to the charges. At the time he was president of the Anchorage Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailer's Association, a local liquor industry advocacy group. He resigned after his arrest.
Pattee pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of fourth-degree assault and second-degree harassment Wednesday afternoon in Anchorage Superior Court.
"What the original charges were were blown out of proportion," Pattee said outside the courtroom.
He was sentenced to serve 60 days with electronic monitoring, which allows him to leave home for work, said Kevin Fitzgerald, Pattee's lawyer.
Pattee is a former member of the board of directors for the Anchorage Downtown Partnership and the Downtown Community Council.
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