Pierce County man sentenced for molesting 13-year-old girl

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A Pierce County man has been sentenced for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl he met online.

The News Tribune reports that John Stenger was sentenced on Friday to three years and five months in prison.

Stenger pleaded guilty earlier this year to child molestation and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

The girl's mother wrote a statement to the court saying he not only traumatized the girl, he also stole her innocence.

Court records show that Stenger brought the girl to his home in 2015. She told him she was 18 and they had sex.

The next day, he learned she was 13 and called a hotline for missing children to get her home.

He later sent her sexual text messages.