SANDPOINT - A Spirit Lake man who had sexual contact with three teens in three counties was sentenced Friday to as long as 20 years in prison.

Joseph Blaine Herbst, 40, will have to serve at least 10 years of the sentence before he can be considered for parole, according to the terms of the sentenced imposed by 1st District Judge Barbara Buchanan.

A Boundary County jury convicted Herbst last year of two counts of lewd conduct for having sex with a 14-year-old girl. His defense counsel moved for a new trial, which delayed his sentencing in the case.

In the meantime, Herbst struck up an illicit relationship with another 14-year-old, with whom he had sex in Bonner County in June.

The Boundary and Bonner county cases emerged while Herbst was waiting to be retried in Kootenai County for having a sexual relationship with a third 14-year-old in 2012. A jury deadlocked on a verdict in the case, resulting in a mistrial.

A binding plea agreement was implemented to resolve the Bonner and Kootenai county cases. It proposed concurrent five- to 10-year terms for sexual abuse of a minor in the Kootenai County case and statutory rape in the Bonner County case.

Buchanan agreed to adhere to the terms of the agreement.

But Boundary County Prosecutor Tevis Hull said he does not support omnibus plea agreements because they diminish the seriousness of offenses and their impact on the victims.

Hull recommended a term of 10 years to life, emphasizing that a lewd-conduct conviction - which carries the prospect of a lifelong prison term - failed to deter Herbst from preying on underage girls.

"This man has to be kept away from young women permanently, for the rest of his life," Hull argued.

Herbst's counsel in the Kootenai and Boundary county cases, Jed Nixon, urged the court to apply the sentence in the binding plea agreement, noting that it was consistent with the recommendation made by the Idaho Department of Correction in a presentence investigation.

"He will be monitored for life," Nixon added, referring to a pending change in Idaho's sex offender registry law. "That certainly protects society."

Herbst apologized for his misconduct and vowed that he would not re-offend once he's released from prison.

"I take full responsibility," Herbst said, explaining that his misdeeds were the result of alcoholism.

But Buchanan concluded that Herbst had not shown remorse for his actions in the Boundary County case and was alarmed a felony conviction failed to curb his appetite for underage girls.

"I see a huge risk," Buchanan said.