Will Georgia release Genarlow Wilson?

Read the background on Genarlow Wilson entrance into a Georgia Prison.

Update: 11:54 a.m. A judge rules that a Georgia man should be released from a 10-year prison sentence for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A judge on Monday voided a 10-year sentence for a man accused of having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

Genarlow Wilson was instead given a 12-month misdemeanor sentence with credit for time already served.

The state is likely to appeal the ruling.

Wilson's original sentence, for aggravated child molestation, was widely criticized on the grounds it was grossly disproportionate to the crime.

State lawmakers later passed a law to close the loophole that led to the 10-year sentence.

Wilson, now 21, has already served more than 27 months.

He is expected to remain behind bars while the appeal proceeds.

Update at 2:40 P.M. On Native Son blog, an appeal has been filed.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A judge on Monday threw out the 10-year sentence against a 21-year-old for a consensual sex encounter he had as a teenager. But the state attorney general quickly filed a notice of appeal, keeping Genarlow Wilson in prison for the time being.

The prosecutor's move brought an abrupt halt to the jubilation Wilson's mother, Juannessa Bennett, and his attorney, B.J. Bernstein, were feeling, and the plans they were making for Bennett to be reunited with her son.

"It is extremely, extremely disturbing that the attorney general would take this action now," Bernstein said, adding that she did not know what message "he's trying to send" or "who he's representing."

In a written statement, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker said he filed the appeal to resolve "clearly erroneous legal issues," saying that while the judge did have the authority to grant habeas relief, he did not have the authority "to reduce or modify the judgment of the trial court."

Separately, Baker noted that Douglas County recently had offered a plea deal "that would have allowed Genarlow Wilson to plead to First Offender Treatment, which would mean that he would not have a criminal record nor would he be subject to registering on the sex offender registry once his sentence had been completed."

"The plea deal, if accepted by Genarlow Wilson's lawyers, could also result in Genarlow Wilson receiving a sentence substantially shorter than the 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for which he was originally sentenced, possibly leading to his release based upon time already served," Baker wrote.

"Genarlow Wilson, through his attorneys, rejected all of those offers. The district attorney's office has indicated that the plea offer will remain available to Genarlow Wilson notwithstanding the appeals process," according to Baker's statement.

Wilson has drawn support from throughout the country, including the editorial board of the New York Times and former President Jimmy Carter.

When he was 17 years old, he had a consensual sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl, which was consensually videotaped.

Georgia law at the time made such an action a felony punishable by 10 years in prison and listing on the sex offender registry.

The state legislature later changed the law, partly in response to Wilson's case. But the change was not made retroactive, leaving Wilson in jail. He has already served more than two years.

Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Wilson of Monroe County, Georgia, voided the sentence Monday, agreeing with Bernstein that the punishment was cruel and unusual, and therefore unconstitutional, Bernstein said.

The judge ruled Wilson should serve one year, less than he has already served, and that he would not be listed as a sex offender.

No surprise there..just need some petitions headed toward Sweet Georgia.