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Barry County man gets 40 years in prison for sexual assault of girl with Down syndrome

Posted at 4:08 PM, Feb 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-16 16:08:21-05

HASTINGS, Mich. (AP) — A 70-year-old western Michigan man caught with a huge cache of child pornography has been sentenced to at least 40 years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl with Down syndrome.

Authorities in Barry County said the abuse by David Heinsen involved an 8-year-old girl more than 25 years ago. Nashville police Chief Chris Koster says Heinsen attacked the “innocent of the innocent.”

Heinsen was sentenced Tuesday in Barry County. Because of his age, he’ll likely die in prison.

Separately, he awaits a sentence in April on child pornography charges. Investigators said he had hundreds of thousands of images and thousands of videos.