Paul N. FeilenA 39-year-old Chattanooga man has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 27 years for the repeated rape of a child.
Paul N. Feilen was arrested in January 2010 on charges that he repeatedly had raped a girl from the time she was in elementary school until she reached middle school, a period of six years.
Feilen had faced an April 29 trial on two counts of child rape and four counts of rape but agreed to plead guilty to one count of each recently, prosecutor Leslie Longshore said.
Sex crime victims are not identified in accordance with Times Free Press policy.
As part of the plea, Feilen was sentenced to 15 years for the child rape charge and 12 years on one rape charge. The two sentences will run consecutively, meaning a 27-year total sentence.
Longshore said she's spoken with the victim's family about the plea, and they wanted to move forward and end the ordeal whether through a plea or trial.
Feilen has been in custody since his 2010 arrest, time that will count against his sentence.
Generally, people convicted of crimes against children must serve 85 percent of their sentences before being considered for parole.