A former church deacon in Illinois was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing a juvenile relative on multiple occasions, including in a church parking lot after choir rehearsal, court records show.

David Tapley, who also served as a volunteer children’s choir guitarist at Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Cary, was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty of three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child by a jury in September, the Northwest Herald reports.

The 54-year-old was charged after the victim — an underage female relative — revealed the allegations in an online forum, police testified during his trial. He must also serve two years of parole and sex offender probation following his prison term, as well as to pay $15,000 in restitution to the girl’s family and another $27,000 to a victims compensation fund, according to the newspaper.

The victim testified during Tapley’s trial alongside a service dog she’s had since being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. A judge ruled that the girl could address the court with the animal present after months of debate between attorneys, the Northwest Herald reports.

While on the stand, the girl told jurors she has since harmed herself following the abuse, which started when she was 9 and continued until she was 14, the Chicago Tribune reports. Her father also testified that she now has difficulty sleeping and has been hospitalized in the aftermath of the sexual assaults.

The girl’s mother, meanwhile, said during a sentencing hearing in December that Tapley caused damage that “cannot be done” while he manipulated her daughter.

“He shows no remorse, accepts no responsibility,” the woman said, according to the Tribune. “He robbed her of her dreams.”

The victim testified that Tapley acted as if she was “just a thing” to satisfy him.

“All I wanted is to have a normal childhood and he took that from me,” she said.

Tapley’s wife, Theresa, had to be removed from the courtroom during last month’s hearing after she was spotted giving the middle finger to the girl’s mother, court officials confirmed to the Tribune.

Theresa Tapley, for her part, testified that her husband was a “loving, gracious, selfless and humble” man who lived his life as a compassionate Christian.

But Judge James Cowlin was unmoved, saying that Tapley used his position for his own “perverted enjoyment” while noting that one instance of abuse took place in a church parking lot. The girl also told police that Tapley bound and sexually abused her in his office at Roosevelt University, where he previously worked, although he was not charged in connection with that allegation.

Tapley had also served as a deacon at Fox Valley Christian Reformed Church in Crystal Lake for roughly a year before he was charged in 2015, Pastor Dan Gregory confirmed to the Northwest Herald.

“We were transparent from the start,” Gregory told the newspaper. “As soon as Dave told us about it, he stepped back from all his leadership, and we sent a letter to the congregation letting everyone know, and we were as upfront as we could be.”

Despite the charges, Tapley was allowed to keep attending church services as a parishioner, Gregory said.