NORTH BAY, Ont. — A 45-year-old northern Ontario man is free after spending more than a month in jail over his poetry.

Daniel O’Neil had been in custody since his arrest Oct. 10 for using rhyme to invite a girl under 16 to sexually touch him two days earlier.

“I didn’t know she was that young,” O’Neil told court Tuesday.

He met the girl through her boyfriend, passed her a 100-milligram trazodone anti-depressant pill, and a note with a “roses are red“ poem that wasn’t so sweet.

Court heard the minimum sentence is 14 days, and O’Neil had been in custody for 45 days since his arrest.

He was released for time served and will be on probation for 18 months.

During his probation, O’Neil is banned from being in the company of children under the age of 16 unless he’s with a responsible adult.

O’Neil has a criminal record, mostly for property crimes, and the judge said he won’t be added to the sex offender registry for this offence.

“In the future, limit your poetry to appropriate purposes,” the judge said.