CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) — A southwestern Idaho man convicted of sexually abusing a young girl for several years has been sentenced to life in prison.

Fifty-year-old Christopher Clendenon of Parma was sentenced by 3rd District Judge Bradly Ford on Monday. Clendenon was arrested in January after law enforcement investigators said he had sexual contact with the girl during an eight-year time span, starting when she was 6.

He was later convicted of lewd conduct with a child. The judge says Clendenon must serve at least seven years of his life sentence before he may apply for parole.

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