COEUR d’ALENE — A man who admitted to sexually abusing a young child received a prison sentence this week.

Guy T. Hladky, 71, of Denville, N.J., pleaded guilty in June to sexual abuse of a child, a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

First District Judge Barry McHugh sentenced Hladky on Monday to 10 years in prison with three years fixed and the rest indeterminate. That means Hladky will be eligible for parole in about three years.

The charge stems from September 2022, when Coeur d’Alene police received a report that Hladky had molested a small child.

Though Hladky’s primary residence was in New Jersey, he owns a home in Coeur d’Alene and frequently visits the area, according to court records. The sexual abuse reportedly occurred in Coeur d’Alene over a period of about two years.

After another person walked in on Hladky touching the child inappropriately, Hladky provided a written apology to the child’s parents, who turned it over to police.

Hladky said he was “embarrassed and disgusted” by his actions, according to court records, and said he had sought therapy in New Jersey to change a “lifetime of horrible and sick behavior.”

In the written statement, Hladky confessed to touching the child inappropriately on multiple occasions during the previous two years.

“I pray every day for God to help me avoid all of my sick thoughts that have plagued me for my entire life,” he wrote. “I have asked for God’s forgiveness. I fully understand that should anything else ever happen that I will be reported. There will be no repeats.”

Police interviewed multiple people before forwarding the case to prosecutors, including Hladky, the child victim, the child’s parents and others.

Prosecutors originally charged Hladky with two counts of lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16, a felony punishable by up to life in prison. He later pleaded guilty to the amended charge.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual abuse, call Safe Passage Violence Prevention Center’s 24-hour hotline: 208-664-9303.