the former u.s. army general appeared in court in charlotte , north carolina on thursday for his sentencing hearing .
he admitted to giving his biographer mistress classified material he had improperly kept from the military - which carried up to a year in prison .
but he was instead sentenced to two years probation and a $ 100,000 fine .
speaking after , petraeus apologized for his ` mistakes ' but thanked his supporters and said he was looking forward to moving on with his life .
he had an affair with paula broadwell between late 2011 and summer 2012 , and stepped down from the cia after the relationship emerged .