CLEVELAND, Ohio — A New Mexico man was sentenced to 28 years in prison for kidnapping a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint and raping her several times as he drove back to his home state.

Joseph Gunter, 41, of Albuquerque will also be on court supervision for the rest of his life after he’s released.

U.S. District Judge Charles Fleming handed down the sentence on Monday. In February, Gunter pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and the transportation of a child for unlawful sexual activity.

Gunter’s attorney, Timothy Ivey, did not respond to a message seeking comment and filed his written arguments under seal.

In a handwritten statement filed ahead of the hearing, Gunter apologized.

“If I could take back my actions I would,” he wrote. “Since I cannot, I only hope my actions haven’t caused too much lasting damage.”

Gunter worked as a dispatcher for a crane operation company, and he had a background in IT. He was discharged from the Navy in 2008 for mental health issues, court records said. He has two minor children.

Gunter had messaged with the girl over Twitter for months. During their exchanges, he forced the girl to self-harm by cutting herself, recording it and sending the videos to him. He sent her degrading messages to control her, told her she couldn’t eat and demanded she send him explicit photos.

The girl told him she contemplated taking her own life in some of the messages, according to court records.

She tried to cut off communication with Gunter by deleting her Twitter account, but Gunter found a new account the girl created, prosecutors said.

On Sept. 21, 2023, Gunter drove 1,600 miles from his home to Ashtabula, where he spotted the girl taking a walk. He pointed a gun at her and forced her into his car, according to prosecutors.

Gunter stopped several times at motels during his drive back to New Mexico, where he repeatedly raped the girl, prosecutors said.

After the girl’s mother reported her missing, local police, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters canvassed the area.

Investigators tracked Gunter’s phone and car to Gray County, Texas. Sheriff’s deputies found Gunter’s gray 2022 Audi and arrested him two days later after a traffic stop. The deputies reported finding the girl inside the car, along with two guns.

When law enforcement searched Gunter’s home, they found a human-sized cage in his bedroom. Authorities wrote in court records they believed Gunter intended to lock the girl in the cage.

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