PORTLAND – A Windham man who was convicted of abusing a 4-year-old girl and photographing the assaults was sentenced Friday to 32 years in prison.

Nicholas Gladu, 28, was convicted last month of unlawful sexual contact, sexual exploitation of a minor younger than 12, visual sexual aggression against a child, and 65 counts of possessing sexually explicit materials.

Some of the explicit materials were photographs documenting the assaults. Others were photographs or videos of other children that Gladu had downloaded from the Internet. Gladu pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Ackerman had asked Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren to sentence Gladu to a total of 60 years in prison. Thomas Connolly, Gladu’s lawyer, had asked for a term of eight years with four suspended.

Gladu was charged after a memory card was found with photographs of the assault in 2010. Authorities said Gladu was baby-sitting the girl at the time. Her mother testified that Gladu told her he had given the child Benadryl to help her sleep.

During the sentencing hearing, Ackerman said Gladu called a relative from jail during the trial, using another inmate’s telephone account number, and told her how to testify. He also said that the trial was going poorly and that he had to take action, like spitting on a juror, to get a mistrial, she said.

Gladu’s sentence includes 18 years of probation. The conditions include no contact with children younger than 16, a prohibition on sexually explicit material, and sex offender evaluation and counseling.

He will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be contacted at 791-6383 or at:

akim@pressherald.com