A 21-year-old Rathdrum man who paid more than a half-dozen teens to have sex with him and then blackmailed them to prevent them from going to police will spend at least 25 years behind bars.

Prosecutors asked that Porter K. Averett spend at least 20 years in prison for his manipulation of nine teenage victims who were between the ages of 12 and 15.

Calling Averett a voracious predator, First District Judge Cynthia K.C. Meyer sentenced Averett to 25 years in prison as part of a life sentence for three counts of lewd conduct with children and one count of child sexual abuse.

Averett was charged last year with 18 felonies after several minors told police he bought them things in exchange for sexual acts. Fourteen of the charges, including eight counts of prostitution, four counts of lewd conduct and one count of sexual abuse of a child, were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Deputy prosecutor Rebecca Perez said Averett’s behavior, because of its depth and repetitiveness with so many victims, was shocking.

“The conduct is staggering,” she said. “It’s so incredibly manipulative and frankly, gross.”

She said Averett chose his victims because of their low social standing and challenged self-esteem.

“He found ways to lock into these children. He would take them to an isolated place and did these things, sometimes in front of others. He took pictures,” she said.

Averett’s attorney, Jed Nixon, said his client was abused at a young age and was bullied and rejected. The teenagers he befriended — Averett was 18 and 19 at the time of the crimes — contacted him, allowed the crimes to happen, then threw him under the bus.

“They turned on him, just like his father, his peers, and everyone else,” Nixon said. “They were making threats to him.”

One of the victim’s relatives, however, called Averett evil and disgusting. He asked the judge to impose a long sentence.

“He took their innocence and their joy from them,” the man said.

Meyer concurred, accusing Averett of being a true predator.

“I find you to be an unrepentant predator,” the judge said. “You plied at-risk youth with intoxicating and poisonous substances, insisting they engage in demeaning sex acts. You groomed them, manipulated them, blackmailed them and sexually molested them.”

Averett, who just turned 21, was sentenced to between 25 years and life on the three lewd conduct felonies and between 20 years and 25 years for sex abuse.

Averett apologized for his acts. He hoped the court would allow him to be placed on probation after passing a prison rehabilitation program.

“I know you will be just,” he told the judge. “I hope you will be merciful.”