ARLINGTON, Va. - A Democratic activist from Falls Church has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for molesting two girls at his daughter's sleepover party.

Forty-eight-year-old Michael Gardner had been chairman of the city's Democratic committee and his wife is the city's former mayor. He was convicted in May of molesting two girls who attended a sleepover party for his daughter's 10th birthday.

Gardner told the Arlington County court Friday before he was sentenced that he was "falsely accused and wrongly convicted."

The 22-year sentence matches what was recommended by the jury.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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