NEWTON – A Newton man was sentenced to prison this week after being accused of committing sex acts with an underage girl.

22-year-old Ryan Hammen received a prison sentence of 15 years and was also ordered to pay a total of $1,040 in civil penalties related to sex offender registry requirements.

Hammen was arrested in March of this year after an investigation by Newton Police following a call reporting an adult man who had possibly committed sex acts with a female juvenile. He was also the subject of an online investigation last year in which he communicated in a sexual manner with a Newton Police officer posing as a 15-year-old girl. 

In June, Hammen pleaded guilty to a total of four felony charges, including one count of 3rd Degree Sexual Abuse of a Child Victim by a Person Four or More Years Older (Class C felony), two counts of Grooming (Class D felony), and one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor (Class D felony).

On Monday, District Court Judge Martha Mertz sentenced Hammen to three consecutive and one simultaneous five-year prison terms, in addition to imposing the civil penalties.