A 27-year-old Portales man was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for one count of sexual penetration of a child.

Lucifer Gardner was given the prison term as part of a plea agreement for the offense committed in March, 2008 against a 4-year-old girl.

The sentence agreement was for 15 years for the second-degree felony, with the final 12 suspended to probation.

“It’s considered a serious violent offense, so he’ll have to serve 85 percent of his sentence,” said Donna Mowrer, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case.