and so a veteran prosecutor named helen brinkman was assigned the case.t was to be her last before retirement. she'd made a career out of prosecuting sex crimes. you go after rapists and abusers on behalf of victims, and you have a situation where there's a person you're prosecuting who claims she is the victim. >> yes. what a way to end a 25-year-long career, to have someone who was preying on a 15-year-old boy for her own gratification turn around and make the child responsible. i still have a difficult time wrapping my mind around that. >> reporter: still, in an effort to avoid what was sure to be a very public, very painful trial, the prosecutor's office offered abby simon a plea deal. plead guilty to one count of criminal sexual conduct and accept one-year behind bars, which with time off for good behavior, would likely mean abby would be free in matter of months. >> i know we as a team really wanted them to accept that plea offer so that that kid didn't have to go through any of that. the damage and harm that comes from this kind of trial to a kid,