Quebec radio host Robert Gillet was convicted Thursday of paying to have sex with a 17-year-old, but he was acquitted of sexually assaulting a younger prostitute after a widely publicized trial.

"It's ridiculous, all this attention," Gillet said as he left the packed courthouse after the jury's verdict was read out. He was found not guilty of two of three charges.

He's scheduled to return to court Tuesday for pre-sentencing arguments.

Robert Gillet

During the two-week trial, Gillet admitted having sex with a 17-year-old, but said he thought she was 19.

He vehemently denied allegations of assault, and denied having sex with a 15-year-old girl. Accusations of sodomy and sex acts involving urination were also untrue, Gillet said.

The jury began its deliberations on Monday. The six men and six women found Gillet not guilty of paying to have sex with the 15-year-old girl and not guilty of sexually assaulting her.

The Crown had accused Gillet of exploiting two troubled teenagers, while the defence had called the entire case a "patchwork" of poor evidence "held together with Scotch tape." The younger prostitute had changed her story several times, jurors were told.

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Gillet was charged in December 2002, after police said they had broken up an alleged teen prostitution ring in the province's capital city. More than 40 others were arrested.

During Gillet's trial, police testified that the accused's voice was not heard on any of the more than 27,000 wiretap tapes recorded during the investigation.