EL PASO, Texas — A Texas jury has sentenced a former Roman Catholic priest to 18 years in prison for sexually assaulting an altar server over several years.

An El Paso County jury sentenced Miguel Luna. Jurors had found the 69-former priest guilty Monday of several charges that include six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

He could have been sentenced to up to life in prison.

Luna was arrested last year after the victim, now in her 30s, reported the abuse to El Paso police in 2016. She told investigators that the sexual assault began when she was 8 years old and continued from 1991 to 1998.

Officials with the Catholic Diocese of El Paso have said that Luna was ordained in 1982 and removed from the ministry in 2013.


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