ALBANY, N.Y. -- It was sentencing day for the two former UAlbany students involved in an altercation on a CDTA bus back in January 2016.
Asha Burwell and Ariel Agudio were both found guilty of falsely reporting an incident in April.
"You manipulated law enforcement. You manipulated the UAlbany community. You manipulated the larger community. You manipulated the media," said Hon. Roger McDonough, Albany County Judge. "What's your motivation? I can't be sure. But clearly, you gave false information to manipulate this situation."
Judge McDonough did not hold back during the sentencing of Burwell and Agudio Friday morning.
"The real victims are the individuals who are truly attacked in the future because of their race, who report it and are not believed because of your false claims," Judge McDonough said.
Judge McDonough compared the case to the tale the boy to cried wolf.
But in the end, he kept Burwell and Agudio out of jail. The women were each sentenced to three years probation, 200 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine.
"This case was never about sentencing or punishment for us," said David Ross, Albany County Assistant District Attorney. "It was about executive exposing the lies and vindicating the truth."
"I think the main focus of today was to ensure that liberty continued and I think that has been satisfied," said Frederick Brewington, Burwell's defense attorney
both defense attorneys say Burwell and Agudio regret being involved in the altercation. However, they say the women can't apologize for their perception of what happened on that CDTA bus.
"The fact of the matter is is that terms that were derogatory in nature, that were racial in nature, were clearly stated on that video and unfortunately in this situation the judge chose not to reference those," Brewington said.
Agudio referred to her letter when offered a chance to speak during the sentencing. Meanwhile, Burwell read a statement saying she did not seek to harm anyone.
"I never intended to waste anyone's time or negatively impact the community," said Burwell.
"Do you for one second think we would be here right now if there were three white girls on that bus who were in a fight with a bus full of black people," said Carlton Agudio, Agudio's father, following the sentencing. "If you can't tell yourself the truth about that, look at yourself."
Immediately after speaking with reporters, both defense attorneys headed down to the clerk's office to file a notice of appeal. So this saga may not be over.