A heartfelt plea to the judge was not enough to keep one Berrien Springs man from being sentenced to jail for drunken driving.

Rajiv Massey, 36, appeared before Judge Scott Schofield Monday morning in Berrien County Court in Niles to be sentenced for operating a vehicle under the influence. According to the judge, this was Massey’s seventh drunken driving conviction.

Massey was sentenced to three years probation and a total of 270 days jail time, 90 of which will be served on sobriety tether. He was ordered to pay a total of $2,185 in fines, fees and costs and his vehicle was ordered immobilized for the duration of his probation.

Before court, Massey expressed his desire to move on from a troubled and negative past that includes being sexually abused as a child.

Not wanting to hold on to negative feelings of the past, realizing he “should leave the past where it belongs — in the past,” Massey added, “I feel genuinely in my heart I am grateful I have not hurt anyone else in my actions.”

There is always a lesson to be learned, Massey said, and a way to grow from it.

“I have found the strength to forgive myself for my past,” Massey said. “… the past is who I once was, not necessarily who I am now or who I will become in the future.”

Massey told the court he’d been continuing his education since his arrest Aug. 27, holding a grade point average of 3.75 and had been taking care of his father who has certain health problems.

The last five months, he said, had been difficult for his family.

“Knowing today that I will be a convicted felon,” Massey gave credit to his faith, saying he’d felt God’s hands holding him even as he stood before the court.

“We all face things we don’t want to and today is a perfect example,” he said. With that, he asked for the court’s forgiveness and said he was throwing himself on the mercy of the court with the “most humble and respectful” of requests to allow him to continue his education and be present to assist his father.

It was not quite enough to keep him from serving time behind bars.

“I do not want to sound overly harsh when I say this,” Schofield said, “but I am not in the forgiveness business. I’m in the consequence business…

“I appreciate your comments,” he continued. “But when you say it was not you who drove drunk on the night of Aug. 27, you are sadly mistaken.”

Schofield told the defendant that until he comes to terms with what his actions and choices had been, he runs the risk of making the same bad choices again.

“You are responsible for realizing your potential,” Schofield said, adding, “It is unfortunate that your poor choices are going to create a hardship for your family, but that’s the way crime is.

“You deserve to be in prison,” he said. “This is your seventh drunken driving conviction. I’m not sending you to prison, but it’s not because you don’t deserve it.”

Massey was also ordered to complete 480 hours of community service.