A Dawsonville man convicted of child molestation asked a judge Thursday to sentence him to life without parole.

“I’d like to apologize to everyone involved,” said Michael Alfred Maestry, who was found guilty last week of molesting a young girl he said he considered to be like a daughter.

The victim, who is now 14, thanked Northeastern Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Bonnie Oliver for presiding over the jury trial and for ensuring Maestry was punished.

Maestry, 40, was found guilty on two counts each of aggravated child molestation, child molestation and solicitation, in addition to one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Oliver called the abuse “severe and heinous.”

“You abused a position of trust,” she said.

Maestry received a life sentence, 35 years of which he must serve in prison.

The remainder will be spent on probation. He also is subject to sex offender’s provisions.

According to court testimony, the sexual abuse began when the victim was 9 and continued until the girl became pregnant, about three years later.

According to DNA evidence, Maestry is not the baby’s father, though the jury believed he engaged in a sexual relationship with the young girl.

Both Maestry and his then live-in girlfriend Kim Mullins, the victim’s aunt and guardian, were arrested in September 2008 in connection with the child molestation case.

Mullins later pleaded guilty to hindering the apprehension of a criminal and cruelty to children.

While testifying for the prosecution May 11, Mullins said she was aware Maestry had also been arrested in Forsyth County prior to his arrest for child molestation in Dawson County.

According to Forsyth County court records, Maestry was arrested in 2007 on charges ranging from statutory rape to aggravated child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

He is scheduled to appear on those charges this week.

In total, Maestry has been accused of molesting three girls between the ages of 12 and 14 in the two counties.