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Aaron C. Rhodes(Photo: Submitted)

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STAUNTON - A Fishersville man has pleaded guilty to sodomizing a young girl, resulting in a 35-year prison term.

In December 2014 an investigation was launched against Aaron Rhodes, 31, after the Internet Crimes Against Children task force in Bedford County alerted the Augusta County Sheriff's Office that he was downloading child pornography.

Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney Timothy Martin said after investigators seized Rhodes' computer, more than a thousand images of child porn were discovered, resulting in 27 child porn charges. Authorities also found a photo of Rhodes receiving oral sex from a girl under the age of five, Martin said, and he was charged with forcible sodomy.

In a plea agreement with the Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, Rhodes pleaded guilty to the single charge of forcible sodomy, resulting in a 60-year prison term with 25 years suspended, giving him 35 years to serve.

"Aaron Rhodes won't see the light of day until he's in his late 60s," Martin said Tuesday. "And I want that to be the message other child predators receive when they think about committing this type of crime in Augusta County."

Prior to his arrest, Rhodes was a technician at BMW of Charlottesville, authorities said.

Rhodes' guilty plea resulted in the child porn charges not being prosecuted, and he also avoided a jury trial slated for March 8. Rhodes was convicted Feb. 11 in Augusta County Circuit Court, records show.

He has been held at Middle River Regional Jail since his arrest more than a year ago and will be transferred to the Virginia Department of Corrections to serve his sentence.

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