A 54-year-old Louisiana man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison and VAS Communityphysical castration after being convicted of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl.

Glenn Sullivan, Sr., of Springfield, pleaded guilty on April 17, to four counts of second-degree rape in connection to assaulting the teen multiple times, according to a press release from 21st Judicial District Attorney Scott M. Perrilloux.

Springfield is a small town in Livingston Parrish about 50 miles east of Baton Rouge.

The crimes came to light, the release says, after a young woman came forward and told Livingston Parrish Sheriff's Office investigators that Sullivan sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager.

After the teen became pregnant, a judge ordered a DNA test which proved Sullivan impregnated the teen, prosecutors said.

Detectives learned Sullivan groomed the victim and threatened her and her family with violence to keep her from disclosing the attacks to authorities, the release continues.

Why the rape conviction didn't stand:Woman after woman told her story, but the conviction didn't stand. Here's why.

Judge sentences Glenn Sullivan Sr. to 50 years and physical castration

On April 22, Judge William Dykes sentenced Sullivan to 50 years in prison and, in accordance with a plea deal, he agreed to be physically castrated, Perrilloux said.

"So many of these types of cases go unreported because of fear,” Perrilloux wrote in the release. "The strength it must have taken for this young woman to tell the truth in the face of threats and adversity is truly incredible."

First physical castration to be ordered in district

Assistant District Attorney Brad J. Cascio, who prosecuted the case, wrote in the release he intends to use "every tool the legislature is willing to give us, including physical castration, to seek justice for the children in our community."

"I want to say I've had three people ordered to be chemically castrated but, to my knowledge, this is the first physical castration to be ordered," Cascio told WBRZ-TV.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.