MONTGOMERY (AP) — A 66-year-old man has been sentenced to nearly 200 years in prison for sexually assaulting a young girl in Elmore County.

Dennis Long received a 198-year sentence from Circuit Judge Bill Lewis in Elmore County court on Tuesday. Long was convicted in December of sodomy and sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. The abuse began when she was 9, news outlets reported.

Long also has two prior child sex offenses from the 1980s and 1990s, according to court records. He was offered a plea deal on the most recent conviction with a recommended sentence of 35 years, but he decided to go to trial.

Lewis said he sentenced Long well above guidelines for the crime because he didn’t want the man to be let out of prison again. The guidelines called for about 17 years, Lewis said.

“When everyone in Alabama wants to let everyone out, it forces judges to put in stiff sentences,” the judge said.