Cyclist Tammy Thomas avoided prison time when she was sentenced to six months house arrest and five years probation by United States District Judge Susan Illston. Tammy Thomas was convicted on three counts of making false statements (perjury) and one count of obstruction of justice.

Illston said Friday that the verdicts in Thomas’s case were fair and well founded but considering the sentences given out in other Balco-related cases, “it would be excessive to sentence Ms. Thomas to 30 months, which would be 10 times longer than the underlying miscreants,” referring to those who were distributing the steroids.

Illston cited Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, who received a four-month prison sentence; Patrick Arnold, a former chemist who worked for Balco, who was sentenced to three months in prison; and Remi Korchemny, the former track coach, and James Valente, the former vice president of Balco, who were sentenced to probation.

Judge Illston apparently does not agree with the government’s agenda of using perjury laws to make examples out of athletes who use steroids. The sentence is far less than the 30 months in prison the government had hoped for and represents a major setback for the government in their witch-hunt against Barry Bonds.

Thomas’s sentence is perhaps the biggest setback for the government, which has a perfect record — eight guilty pleas and two convictions — since the investigation into Balco began more than six years ago. A stiff sentence for Thomas would have sent a strong message to Bonds that losing his case at trial could have significant ramifications.

Mike Rains, a lawyer for Bonds, said in a telephone interview that Illston’s decision was “an indication that the government isn’t always going to get what the government wants from this judge, nor should it.”

The sentence, Rains said, “gives me reason to be happy that we got a judge that I think is fair and decent for Barry’s case.”