WOODBURY, N.J., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A New Jersey teenager who admitted strangling a 12-year-old girl and dumping her body in a recycling bin was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison.
A judge said Justin Robinson, 16, must spend at least 14 1/2 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole, the South Jersey Times reported. Superior Court Judge Walter Marshall recommended Robinson spend the early years of his sentence in a juvenile facility.
Robinson pleaded guilty last month to the murder of Autumn Pasquale. Autumn, who also lived in the small town of Clayton in South Jersey. She was lured to his house in October 2012 by an offer to work on her bicycle and to exchange parts for it.
Robinson's older brother, Donte, who was 17 at the time, faces juvenile charges in connection with the killing.
Justin Robinson said in his guilty plea he was responsible for getting Autumn to their home and for killing her.
"I'm sorry and I never meant for this to happen," he said.
The sentence is the result of a plea agreement with the Camden County prosecutor's office. The case was transferred after April's godfather threatened a lawsuit, charging the Gloucester County prosecutor had bungled the search for the girl, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
