Sounds bad. Prosecutors tend to wrack up the charges to assure a conviction. Here, it appears the prosecution accepted an Alford Plea. This is where the defendant pleads guilty to one charge, usually the lesser one, in exchange for all the other charges to be dismissed. From the article:

"Under a plea deal, Gavin pleaded guilty to one possession count and the remaining 11 counts were dismissed, court records show. He was also granted a stay of imposition by Judge Matthew Opat, meaning his conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor if he successfully completes his 10 years of probation."

Probation is more than what many people think it is. It's where the guilty has to appear before a probation officer usually every week. In this case, it is for 10 years. The guilty party has to hire the probation officer he is ordered to meet with. This is very expensive and may cost him $150 to $275 per meeting. The probation officer also has discretionary power and if the guilty party is recalcitrant or disruptive, he can be sent back to court for changes to the sentence.

Keeping this creep under a constant watchful eye is probably a good thing.