Tuesday, a Poplarville man admitted to sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl for a week in January 2013.

Stanley Eugene Hart, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery against a juvenile, according to a press release from the Second Circuit Court District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation into Hart’s actions began in January 2013 after the Waveland Police Department received a call from a neighbor of the victim’s family. According to the press release, the neighbor told police that the defendant was involved in possible misconduct.

Throughout the investigation, police learned that Hart was a family friend of the victim’s family and spent the night at their apartment, the press release stated.

When detectives interviewed Hart, he confessed to molesting the juvenile in the span of a week. During his plea hearing, Hart said, “There is no explaining it. I was wrong for doing it. I accept my punishment,” according to the press release.

Harrison County Circuit Judge Larry Bourgeois sentenced Hart to 20 years for each count to run consecutively for a total of 40 years. Twenty years of his sentence were suspended, leaving 20 to serve in prison with five years of probation after his release, according to the press release.

“This is his first conviction for sexual battery. He had no convictions prior to this incident,” Assistant District Attorney D. Christopher Daniel wrote in an email. He served as the prosecutor in this case.

Hart will be required to register as a sex offender after he’s released, according to the press release.