A man from the Grand Rapids area who preyed upon an Edwardsburg teenager he met on Facebook will spend the next several years in a prison cell.

Cass County Circuit Judge Mark Herman sentenced 27-year-old Thomes Leon Huling, of Kentwood, Michigan, to a minimum of five years to a maximum of 15 years in prison during his hearing in Cass County court Friday. Huling was punished on charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and bribing or intimidating a witness, which he pleaded guilty to during an appearance in court May 15.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred Oct. 4, 2015, in Ontwa Township, in which Huling, who was then 25, had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl inside his vehicle. Huling had been in contact with the victim several weeks before the encounter after befriending her on Facebook. The two regularly exchanged messages through the social media website, and the adult eventually sent her nude pictures of himself.

When the man learned he was being investigated for sexual assault, Huling contacted the victim’s family in an attempt to bribe them to not testify against him.

The victim’s life has taken a dramatic turn since her encounter with Huling. On top of medical issues, the teenager has withdrawn socially, has struggled academically and has begun taking anti-depression and anxiety medication.

“I don’t know if her life will ever be the same,” the victim’s mother said in court Friday. “I’m her mother, and I have to sit there and watch her go through this. There’s nothing I can do to fix it, because a grown man took away her childhood.”

Cass County Victor Fitz also criticized Huling’s selfishness in his statements he made in the presentence report, saying that the man focused only on the ways his arrest has changed his life and not the victim’s. The prosecutor asked the judge to impose at least five years of prison on the defendant for both his sexual misconduct and attempted bribery.

Huling’s attorney, Gregory Feldman, said his client accepted that he must face incarceration for his actions, and that he intends to change the direction of his life once he is released from prison.

“I want to stand up as a man and say sorry for what I did,” Huling said in court Friday. “I can’t take it back, but it has changed my life. I want to do whatever I can to get back to being a good man, to become a role model.”

Before handing down his ruling, Herman told the defendant to take the time to consider the impact his actions have had on his and his victim’s lives, especially in light of the fact that Huling will soon be a father himself.

“I think [that] will help you reflect on what it would mean if somebody did this your child,” Herman said.

Huling was given credit for six days served behind bars. He must also register as a sex offender per the requirements of the Michigan Sex Offender Act.