A man who prosecutors said stole the innocence of a young child has been sentenced to a lengthy prison stay.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman sentenced Curtis Adam Kline, 28, of Niles, to two jail terms of 225 months to 40 years for two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 years old. His sentences will run concurrently. Kline has 567 days credit for time already served.

As part of his sentence, Kline is prohibited from contacting the victims or their families and must register as a sex offender.

Kline pleaded no contest to the charges in an Aug. 7 court appearance.

The charges stem from events that took place between 2012 and 2013, when Kline repeatedly pressured, threatened and coerced a young acquaintance, who is now 13 years old,  to sexually stimulate him both orally and manually. According to the presentence investigation, the abuse began in Cass County when the victim was between 7 and 8 years old.

Kline is also alleged to have attempted the same form of sexual abuse on a friend of the victims when she visited the victim’s home.

“When you look at the innocence you have taken from the victim in this matter, your actions were reprehensible,” Herman said to Kline during sentencing. “When we look at what you’ve done and the impact you’ve had on her life, it’s just reprehensible.”

According to prosecutor Sarah Mathews, during the times when the sexual abuse would take place, Kline would lock the victim in the house with other children outside, in order to create an environment where he could “have his way with her” and teach her “insanely inappropriate things for a young child.”

“He created a situation that by the time she is 12, she has not only heard the terms handjob and blowjob, she’s actually committed those acts. She’s been forced to commit those acts. He groomed her,” Mathews said. “He’s taken her innocence, her view [of the world].”

Due to the nature of the crime, the judge noted that he could sentence Kline to two consecutive sentences of 225 months to 40 years, but said that he would honor the plea agreement and recommended sentence, and made Kline’s prison sentences concurrent.

The prosecution seemed satisfied with Herman’s ruling.

“The children of Cass County are not only our most valuable members, but our most vulnerable,” Mathews said. “They deserve the protection of the courts. … These children will never be the same. They have lost their innocence, but hopefully they will learn from the justice today.”