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A man who sexually abused a child he got to know while serving as a mentor for a youth service organization will spend 35 years in a federal prison and be on supervised probation for the rest of his life.

Antonio Cardenas, 32, pleaded guilty in February to one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped other counts of aggravated sexual abuse, production of child pornography and distribution of child pornography and agreed to recommend he spend 30 years, rather than life, in prison.

But U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups said during a sentencing hearing Monday that Cardenas deserved more time behind bars given the nature of his crimes. Waddoups said Cardenas was a victim of "early sexualization" and "repeated incidents" that "perhaps placed in him urges that are not normal."

But the judge said Cardenas' longer sentence was warranted given the trust the family and victim had placed in him. The judge said Cardenas showed little regard for his victim by his conduct and added to the damage by distributing images of the abuse online. He also noted that a psychosexual exam shows Cardenas continues to be at risk of offending; he'll get sex offender treatment during his incarceration.

The victim's mother told the judge that the family met Cardenas in 2004 after she sought a mentor for her then 7-year-old child, who was being teased at school and struggling because of a learning disability, through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah. At first, it seemed a good fit, she said — so much so that in 2005 the family began inviting Cardenas on camping trips and other activities with them. But beginning in third grade the child began acting out violently at school, behavior that continued through sixth grade.

That eventually led to the discovery that Cardenas had not only raped the child, but filmed the acts and posted them on the Internet, where they circulated globally. Some of the sexual abuse and filming occurred when Cardenas traveled with the child to Las Vegas; he also enticed two children to engage in sexual acts while he filmed them.

The victim, now a teenager, also addressed the court, speaking softly while weeping and then briefly leaving the courtroom. A sibling spoke about the sense of betrayal, guilt and anger the family has had to deal with because of Cardenas' actions. The sibling and the victim's mother told the judge Cardenas has blamed the family and police for causing the victim's pain by prosecuting the crime.

"This man clearly has no remorse for the pain he has caused" my child, the mother said.

Cardenas sexually abused at least four other victims, including children within his extended family.

Cardenas told the judge he couldn't imagine the pain he'd caused his victims and their families. "It was choices that were made and now I've got to pay the consequences of those choices," he said, adding that he hoped the families would some day be able to forgive him.