AUGUSTA -- A 20-year prison term handed down Friday to a Waldo County man who sexually assaulted a 3-year-old relative is among the first sentence in the state imposed under the 2006 "Jessica's law," which prescribes harsher penalties for repeat offenders and for sex offenses against young children.

Ronald L. Farrar, 59, of Waldo, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, which a state corrections official likened to lifetime probation.

Farrar pleaded guilty on July 10, 2007, in Waldo County Superior Court before Justice Nancy Mills to charges of gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and visual sexual aggression. The offenses, all involving the same girl, occurred Oct. 6, 2006, at Farrar's home.

Farrar confessed to police that he assaulted the child while baby-sitting her. He told them he was sexually frustrated, anxious and depressed because of a recent bankruptcy filing.

The sentencing hearing Friday in Kennebec County Superior Court was continued from one on Nov. 28, 2007, when Mills halted it and ordered Farrar to undergo a psychological-competency evaluation.

In 2006, the Maine Legislature set 20 years as the base sentence for an offender convicted of gross sexual assault against a child younger than 12. However, the law permits a judge to deviate from the 20 years and does not limit the portion of the sentence that can be suspended, according to Evert Fowle, district attorney in Kennebec and Somerset counties.

The bill initially considered by the Legislature called for mandatory 25-year sentences for first-time offenders convicted of gross sexual assault against a child younger than 12, and life in prison for repeat offenders.

Geoffrey Rushlau, district attorney for Waldo, Knox, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties and president of the Maine Prosecutors' Association, said Friday he believes Farrar might be the first person to be sentenced under the new version of the law.

"I have not heard from my colleagues that anyone else has been sentenced under that," Rushlau said. "It's hard to think of anybody that merits it more."

Farrar is a repeat sex offender. He was found guilty in 1991 in Aroostook County of two counts of gross sexual assault, two counts of unlawful sexual contact, and assault, and was sentenced to four years in jail, all but one year suspended and five years' probation, according to Waldo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Walker.

Walker said the child in the most recent case is the daughter of the man who was a victim of Farrar's previous sexual assaults.

Walker said the child is the fourth victim of a sex crime by Farrar. "He has gone too prison, gone to jail and been through counseling," Walker said. "He obviously knew this behavior was not acceptable."

At the Nov. 28, 2007, hearing Walker told the judge the victim's parents chose not to attend because "They don't feel they can remain emotionally appropriate in the court."

On Friday, Farrar's wife Theresa read statements from them asking that the judge impose a shorter jail time so Ronald Farrar would not die in prison.

She collapsed after the hearing and Augusta Rescue was called to take her to the hospital.

Walker and Farrar's attorney, Clifton C. Fuller III, had agreed on a recommended maximum sentence of 20 years. Mills said she chose not to suspend any of the 20-year term.

"This is the fourth victim and the youngest of all," Mills said.

Theresa Farrar said her husband's behavior has affected everyone in the family.

A son, Christopher, said his father was "a good person and a really good dad."

Bud Hall, a probation officer who serves as the sex-offender specialist in southern Kennebec County, said he hasn't dealt with anyone on the law's supervised-release provision and has not heard of any other cases involving lifetime supervised release.

Denise Lord, deputy commissioner of the Department of Corrections, said supervised released would be similar to a lifetime probation.