WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A former Pennsylvania police officer and junior high school greeter has been sentenced to three to 24 months in prison in the sexual assault of a young girl.

Seventy-nine-year-old Gerald Cookus of Wilkes-Barre burst into tears as he apologized during Tuesday's sentencing hearing in Luzerne County.Cookus pleaded guilty last fall to indecent assault of a person under 13. He was arrested in April after police said he inappropriately touched an 8-year-old girl.Defense attorney Frank Nocito said his client "had a very difficult start to life" including physical abuse at a young age, but he has sought treatment and medication since his arrest.Cookus had served as a Wilkes-Barre police officer and most recently worked at Leo E. Solomon-Plains Memorial Junior High School.