Gentleman sentenced for dousing Bewitched statue with red paint

After entering a plea of guilty for vandalizing the "Bewitched" statue in Salem, Massachusetts by painting it blood red, a man will be given 18 months of probation, reports News 4 Jax, which has a photo of the defaced statue.

The Salem News says a judge deferred the gentleman's original year-long jail sentence on the condition that he pay back the cost of fixing the bronze statue's damage. The man was held on bond, according to a prosecutor, because he was "going through a tough time" and "wanted to do anything to get arrested."

Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha Stephens in the 1960s sitcom, is shown in the statue perched on a broomstick in front of a crescent moon. Some of Salem's residents object to the statue because they say it trivializes the misogynist horror of the 1692 trials.