Should Sentencing Be Based On Your Societal Contribution?

There's an interesting story referenced by Michelle Malkin which refers to a man named Tracy McIntosh who sexually assaulted a woman and pleaded "no contest" to the attack. The judge gave him a lenient sentence because he is one of the leading stem cell research scientists and felt that taking him away from his work would cause more harm to society than good.

Does this seem fair to you? I'm not sure how I feel about this one...