BENTON, Ill. (WJPF) – A Benton man has been sentenced to over 45 years in prison for sex crimes against a child.

Robert Hodges, 35, was arrested in July 2023 after the 5-year-old victim’s mother reported the crime to police.

Hodges pleaded guilty to one county of predatory criminal sexual assault of child and will have to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.