Uncle Kracker agreed to a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor assault in September, instead of sexual assault, stemming from a nightclub incident that occurred this summer.

Singer Uncle Kracker, real name Matthew Shafer, was arrested in mid-August on a second-degree sex offense charge; he was freed after posting $75,000 bail.

A 26-year-old woman accused Shafer at the time of having committed a sexual act against her in a North Carolina nightclub called Ess Lounge, where he was scheduled to perform.

Shafer initially faced criminal sexual assault charges, but was eventually fined $1,500, given a year's probation and ordered to undergo alcohol counseling, after he agreed to a plea bargain, reports Reuters.

The Associated Press reports that the singer recently expressed his frustration with pleading guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor assault to avoid a trial.

Shafer, 33, said Monday that he struck the woman after she hit him and added that the incident occurred after he bumped into her during a party after a concert in Raleigh in August.

“There was no sexual anything involved,” Shafer said, as quoted by the AP. “Assault is a far cry from sexual battery. You can either wait a year, spend 150 grand, go to trial, make more of a debacle out of it, or you can get it over with,” he said.

The singer added that, while he regrets the incident, he is not sorry about the way he reacted to being hit. Reports at the time said Shafer and the woman did not know each other.

Shafer is a longtime friend of Kid Rock and he first became famous as a turntablist for the rocker during early tours. He followed this with his debut album, “Double Wide,” which included his signature hit “Follow Me.”

He has recently turned to country music, enjoying success alongside Kenny Chesney, with whom he sings “When the Sun Goes Down,” from the latter’s album “No Stranger to Shame.”

Matthew Shafer’s most recent album is 2004’s “Seventy Two and Sunny.”