A Niles man described by the Cass County prosecutor as the “epitome of the depravity of man” has a long stint in prison awaiting him for criminal sexual conduct.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman sentenced Michael Mitchell, 25, to a minimum of 16 years to a maximum of 50 years in prison during the man’s court hearing on Friday. Mitchell was punished on two charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (with a person under 13), a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct (with a person under 13) and two counts of child sexually abusive material or activity.

The Niles man pleaded guilty to the charges March 24.

The charges stem from a period between 2012 and Sept. 21, 2016, during which Mitchell repeatedly abused a child under the age of 13. On top of assaulting the child, the defendant also took nude photos of the victim and kept them on his phone, Herman said.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz described Mitchell’s abuse as a “four-year nightmare” for the victim.

“She suffered, and now she is going to have to deal with this the rest of her life,” Fitz said.

Herman pointed out that Mitchell has a record of sexual abusive behavior dating back nearly 10 years, with his first offense coming when he was 16-years-old. He also has two prior convictions for failure to properly register as a sex offender.

Due to an agreement between the prosecutor’s office and Mitchell and his attorney, Paul Jancha, the prosecutor recommended that the Niles man serve a minimum of 16 years. Fitz explained his office cut the deal in order to spare the victim the pain of having to testify in court.

Herman agreed to the terms of the agreement, though not without sharing his opinion with Mitchell about.

“While you may not consider it a blessing, I can assure you it is,” Herman said to the defendant. “Given your prior history and the circumstances of your case, left to my own devices, your sentence would have substantially longer and may have been imposed consecutively, which the court has the authority to do.”

Mitchell was given credit for six days already served behind bars. The judge also ordered the man to be subject to lifetime electronic monitoring following his release from prison.