A Lake in the Hills man who had worked as a mentor for inmates housed in the McHenry County jail admitted Wednesday that he sexually assaulted a child, court records show.

Charles Sprague, 70, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim younger than 13, a Class X felony, according to records in the McHenry County court.

During an initial court appearance in August where he was denied pretrial release, prosecutors said Sprague posed an “exceptional” level of danger to his accuser, other children and to the community.

Prosecutors said the victim, who is now an adult living in Florida, reported that Sprague assaulted her several times weekly from the age of 8 until she was 13, between 2004 and 2010, Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Conroy said.

The woman said Sprague began touching her inappropriately when she was 8 and that, in the years that followed, his behavior escalated and became more sexual

Conroy said Sprague admitted to the assaults in text messages with the woman and in a phone conversation in which police were listening. Sprague apologized, but manipulated and gaslighted her, Conroy said, telling the woman that she needed to pray to God and ask for forgiveness for the sexual assaults, the prosecutor said.

Sprague also texted that he was “so sorry,” that he loved her and that he was “selfish, thoughtless, depressed and hollow,” the prosecutor said.

During Sprague, initial court appearance, he told Judge Cynthia Lamb that he worked as an adjunct professor at Judson University in Elgin. But, following his arrest, a university spokesperson told Shaw Local that he no longer worked there.

The school’s website said he mentored at the school, and before his name was removed, had listed him as an adjunct faculty member in the Psychology and Sociology Department. The spokesperson said: “As soon as we knew about these developments, his name was removed from the directory on our website.”

Sprague, who has been in custody of the jail since his arrest in August, also worked as a mentor in the jail as part of New Life Transitions of Northern Illinois, an organization he founded and of which he was the chairman, according to its website.

In exchange for his guilty plea, additional counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 and aggravated sexual abuse were dismissed, records show. Sprague is required to serve 85% of his prison time, followed by three years to life of mandatory supervised release, according to official documents, and he will be a lifetime registered sex offender. He is receiving credit for 282 days served in the county jail since his arrest.

The woman he pleaded guilty to assaulting as a child was aware of the agreement and accepted terms of the sentence, Assistant State’s Attorney Shelby Page said.

Sprague’s attorney declined to comment.