BURLINGTON - A Vermont man who jumped bail the night before a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl is going to prison for 20-years to life.

Thirty-eight-year-old Ali Abdi was sentenced Wednesday in Vermont District Court in Burlington.

Abdi is a refugee from Somalia and could be eligible for deportation after he serves his sentence.

Abdi jumped bail in February of last year the night before he was convicted of assaulting the girl. He was captured two weeks later in Michigan.

Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan tells the Burlington Free Press the sentence was in response to a horrific crime.