PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A woman accused of convincing three juveniles to start a fire that caused $500,000 to a Pierre motel has avoided prison.

A judge has given Tracy St. John a suspended prison sentence, although she will have to spend another three months in jail. The August fire nearly destroyed the low-rent, long-term stay State Motel.

Her attorney Jeremy Lund argued the 38-year-old woman has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and is less culpable than the teens she persuaded to set a bed on fire.

The Capital Journal (http://bit.ly/2nzUqHI ) reports Judge John Brown said in court Tuesday that sending St. John to prison would be "simply warehousing her." He ordered her to get in-patient treatment and pay the hotel owner $2,500.

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Information from: Pierre Capital Journal, http://www.capjournal.com