Fort Worth, Texas -- Ethan Couch, a 16-year-old Texas boy who killed four people while driving drunk, has been sentenced to 10 years' probation after his defenders argued he was a victim of "affluenza" -- being raised by rich parents who set no limits.

Ethan Couch, 16, enters a Fort Worth courtroom where he was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years' probation in the drunk-driving deaths of four people.

The sentence imposed Tuesday by State District Judge Jean Boyd stunned the victims' family members, some of whom told

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that they'd forgiven Couch but had expected him to serve some prison time.

It also disappointed prosecutors who had asked Boyd to sentence Couch to 20 years in prison, the maximum.

"There needs to be some justice here," Eric Boyles said Wednesday on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." Boyles' wife, Hollie, and daughter, Shelby, were killed in the June 15 crash. Boyles added:

"For 25 weeks, I've been going through a healing process. And so when the verdict came out, I mean, my immediate reaction is -- I'm back to Week 1. We have accomplished nothing here. My healing process is out the window."

But Boyd, while telling Couch he was responsible for the accident, said it was unlikely prison could provide the treatment he needs. The sentence instead requires him to be sent to a long-term treatment center and that he have no contact with his parents.

Scott Brown, one of Couch's lawyers, said his client could have been out of prison in as little as two years if Boyd had sentenced him to 20 years. The probation sentence keeps him "under the thumb of the justice system for the next 10 years," he told Star-Telegram.com

According to NBCDFW.com, Couch was driving seven passengers when his pickup truck slammed into several vehicles, rolled and struck a tree.

Killed in the accident were 24-year-old Breanna Mitchell, whose car had broken down; Brian Jennings, a youth minister who had been passing by and stopped to help; and Hollie and Shelby Boyles, who had come from their nearby home to assist Mitchell.

Among those injured was Sergio Molina, a passenger in Couch's truck. Molina was left brain damaged and paralyzed and can communicate only by blinking, the Daily News said.

Couch admitted to driving drunk, Star-Telegram.com said. Testimony indicated his blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit and that he also had traces of Valium in his system. Last week, he pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury.

Before the sentencing, Dr. G. Dick Miller, a psychologist called by the defense, said Couch was a product of "affluenza" -- that his family felt their wealth brought privilege. He learned at home never to apologize if he hurt someone but to send money, he said.

The family let the boy drive at age 13 and let him go unpunished when, two years later, police found him in a parked pickup truck with a 14-year-old girl who was passed out and unclothed, Miller said.

He described Couch as "emotionally flat," but told the court he could be rescued with at least two years of therapy and no contact with his parents.

Couch's father, Fred Couch, owner of a Fort Worth sheet metal manufacturing company, has agreed to pay for the treatment, Opposing Views said. Couch's lawyers are recommending a $450,000-a-year rehabilitation facility in Newport Beach, Calif.

The teenager and his parents also are the targets of at least five lawsuits from victims' families seeking millions of dollars in damages. The elder Couch's company also is named in the suits because it owned the truck that Ethan Couch was driving.

KHOU filed this video report:

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