Former City Councilman W. Joe Newman pleaded no contest today in Chesapeake Circuit Court to assault and battery against a former employee of his business.

Newman had appealed a lower court conviction in December of a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery against a woman who worked part-time at his business, Newman Financial Services, in the 1100 block of N. Battlefield Blvd. Today’s plea, which was part of an agreement with prosecutors, ends that appeal.

He was sentenced to six months in jail, with all the time suspended on the condition that he stay on good behavior for a year and have no contact with the victim.

Newman, a financial consultant, served on the City Council twice, from 1994 and 1998 and from 2002 to 2006. He had been a pastor at Brentwood Baptist Church in Norfolk.