A 23-year-old man who sent a 14-year-old Cranberry Township girl more than 500 sexually explicit text messages, then encouraged her to sneak out of her house to meet him will serve 3 to 6 years in prison.

Jacob Meadows of East Palestine, Ohio, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, criminal attempt and unauthorized use of a communications facility.

He was sentenced Thursday by Butler County Judge William Shaffer.

According to court records, the communication between Meadows and the girl began in 2013 and went on for months ending only with his arrest.

However, officers acting in an undercover capacity assumed the girl’s identity after she alerted police about the text messages. It was during this time that officers exchanged about 500 text messages with the suspect.

“The majority of Meadows’ text messages were sexual in nature and allegedly centered around either soliciting the girl to meet him for sexual activity or encouraging her to send him nude photos,” according to a release sent out by prosecutors at the time of Meadows’ arrest.

Meadows allegedly encouraged the girl to sneak away from her father’s house to meet for sex. He was arrested when he arrived in Cranberry Township.

“This is a serious case,” said Deputy Attorney General Jessel Costa, who prosecuted Meadows. “The people involved would have, could have been children.”

When given an opportunity to speak in court, Meadows declined.

In addition to the prison time, the judge ordered Meadows to spend an additional 6 years on probation.

Meadows was evaluated by the state’s Sexual Offender Assessment Board, who determined he does not meet the criteria to be deemed a sexually violent predator.

Still, due to the nature of the charges, he must register his whereabouts for the rest of his life.