Sex predator strangled girl of 13 he met on internet

A man who met a girl aged 13 on the internet and then strangled her while they had sex in his car has been given a 30-year jail sentence

Saul Dos Reis, 25, a restaurant worker from Connecticut, pleaded guilty in March to manslaughter and sexual assault charges in a case that spread fear among parents of young teenagers all across America who may be tempted into sexual liaisons with people they meet through chat rooms on the Web.

At a sentencing hearing in Danbury, Connecticut, Judge Patrick Connoll sentenced Dos Reis to 30 years, the maximum possible penalty. He delivered the harsh punishment in spite of repeated apologies from the defendant on the stand.

"I have not had a single night of sleep when I don't wake up drenched in sweat," Dos Reis said. He spoke so quietly and while sniffling that the judge had to ask him repeatedly to speak up.

"That time for mercy was the evening your victim died in your hands," the judge replied flatly, taking little notice of appeals from friends and relatives of Dos Reis, who described a caring man who gave free meals to the homeless in his restaurant.

At the trial, prosecutors said Dos Reis made contact with the victim, Christina Long, in a chat room and eventually persuaded her to meet him. They had sex in his car parked at a shopping mall. She died after he strangled her while they were having sex. Dos Reis said the strangling happened in the heat of the moment and he never meant to kill her.

The crime prompted national outrage and spurred an effort in the US Congress to create a domain on the internet that would be for minors only, thus keeping them away from adults.

Also present at the sentencing were members of Ms Long's family, some of who spoke at the trial.

The girl's grandfather, Lawrence Long, called Dos Reis a "habitual predator" who used his car and money to lure her to her death. Prosecutors said Dos Reis had met his victim at a shopping centre on two different occasions.