A Wisconsin judge on Monday said he didn't believe a molestation defendant who insisted he was heterosexual, making his point with references to a jock strap and a prom dress.

Judge Philip Kirk of Waupaca commented before sentencing former New London school bus driver Delton Gorges to seven years in prison. During the sentencing hearing, the judge said "I think you were born gayer than a sweet smelling jock strap," Kirk said.

Gorges, who drove a school bus for 33 years, pleaded no contest to four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.

"I think that if anyone believes that in the last 10 years or 15 years all of a sudden you developed an interest in homosexuality and young boys, then I must have looked ravishing in my prom dress this year," Kirk said.

Kirk said he believes the 71-year-old defendant was the victim of a homophobic society in the 1940s and 1950s. "No one knew there was a closet to come out of in those days," he said. "You know you had to be very careful, because you could have found your penis floating in the Wolf as walleye bait. It was a terrible life to have to live."

Critics said they were concerned about the judge's comments linking homosexuality with pedophilia. "Sometimes people don't say the right thing, but they potentially mean well, "said Andrew DeBaker, co-chair of the gay rights group New Pride. "The thing that concerns me is the linking homosexuality, linking being gay with, in this case, child molestation."