COEUR d’ALENE — Prosecutors asked that Barry Morgan of Post Falls spend the rest of his life behind bars for filming the children he molested.

First District Judge Cynthia K.C. Meyer sentenced Morgan, a 72-year-old retired aerospace worker, to a 12-year fixed prison term with the remaining years of indeterminate time to be used at the discretion of the Department of Correction.

Morgan pleaded guilty to one count of lewd conduct with children under 16.

The remaining three lewd conduct charges and one count of exploitation of a child were dismissed.

He told investigators that the children had asked to hold his “tail” and take their pictures. He said he got carried away and took highly inappropriate images of children with their genitals exposed, as well as images of children under the age of 10 holding his penis.

At Tuesday’s sentencing, Meyer accused Morgan of putting the blame for his actions on the children he abused.

“You indicated this was a crime of opportunity,” Meyer said. “This involved planning, scheming, grooming, setting things up and then carrying them out. It took criminal intent that is beyond the pale — heinous, deplorable.”

Defense attorney James Siebe asked the court to allow Morgan to redeem himself. He urged the court to impose a two-year sentence.

“This is suffering he has brought on himself,” Siebe said. “But he has suffered.”

Deputy prosecutor Rebecca Perez said her request for a 20-year fixed prison term and a life maximum was fitting.

“I recognize that I have asked for a long time in prison and that he is old and may not survive the fixed portion,” Perez said. “To protect the community, and every child that comes in his path, this is appropriate.”

Neighbors became suspicious of Morgan, an amateur photographer, after he took pictures of children in their bathing suits. Police said Morgan confided to family members and his minister that he had fondled children, some as young as 5, and “allowed them” to touch him in exchange for candy. The incidents occurred over a five-year period until his arrest in September as he walked from his car to his church in Coeur d’Alene.

Morgan told the court that he regretted the pain and suffering he had caused.

“It was a much bigger deal than I thought it would be,” he said. “This is all new to me. I have never been in trouble before. I am getting a feeling of hopelessness now.”