NILES —  Though she was too overwhelmed to speak for herself, the victim of a sexual abuse case created a statement that was read in court Monday, asking a judge to give her assailant the maximum penalty.

That man, Matthew Steven Andrews, 35, formerly of Watervliet, pleaded guilty April 11, to criminal sexual conduct assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. Judge Charles LaSata sentenced Andrews to serve 23 to 120 months in a Michigan state prison.

The crimes occurred in Niles and first began in 2007 with a pattern of abuse following. While the victim approached a podium in the courtroom with the intent to address the court, she appeared to become overwhelmed at the task. Instead, Cortney O’Malley, the assistant prosecuting attorney. read a statement that she had written that detailed the impact of Andrews’ abuse on her, including harming her family and causing her to lose focus in school.

“He has given me a life sentence of unforgivable sexual abuse that has robbed me of my childhood and will affect me every day for the rest of my life,” she said. “There is no one [eviler] than a sexual predator, who preys on innocent children.”

She asked the judge to keep Andrews off the street so that he could not hurt other children.

LaSata said cases like Andrews are the reason he does not allow sentencing agreements.

“I could not sleep at night knowing with the limitation of the recommendation,” LaSata said. 

He cited the impact that the crime had on the victim and said he intended to sentence Andrews more prison time than was recommended by the court.

“I was troubled by this and you can see the victim is really affected,” LaSata said. “This originally began when the victim was 9 and you were 24 and then continued. You had a real impact on her.”

Andrews’ defense attorney said his client would take whatever the recommended punishment was and use it to help him become a better person.

When it was his turn to speak, Andrews apologized.

“I would like to apologize to everyone that I have hurt with my crime,” Andrews said.

Reflecting further on the victim’s statement, LaSata said the victim would have less to fear with Andrews behind bars.

“I suspect that she [the victim] is probably stronger when she is not in the same room as you and she won’t be in the same room with you for quite a long time,” LaSata said.