FARMINGTON – A 58-year-old Rangeley man pleaded guilty Friday in Franklin County Superior Court to sexually abusing a teenage girl who was in the church youth group he once led.

Kenneth E. White admitted to three charges of abusing the girl.

Assistant District Attorney James Andrews said the girl’s mother knew White since she was a child when he was leading her church youth group. She had concerns about him back then, he said, and she and others in the church raised their concerns when her daughter became involved with the group.

White was removed as the youth director and subsequently left the church, Andrews said, only to return several years later.

Andrews said White offered to be the girl’s surrogate father when her parents divorced. He called himself a “white knight,” according to the mother’s testimony. She said he “is the most dangerous person I know.

“I taught her to love and trust people,” she said of her daughter. “I never thought it would make her vulnerable,” she said with a faltering voice.

Andrews said White violated the girl’s trust. When she was having difficulty with her father, he took advantage, not only of her young age, but of her vulnerability. His actions, he said, were also a violation of the church community’s trust.

The girl spoke in a wavering voice, saying White had been an important part of her life. He had been a mentor, a father figure and a best friend to her, she said.

Now, she said, she’s terrified of him.

“He used my faith to attach himself to me,” she said.

She said she could no longer attend church because it holds too many painful memories for her.

Andrews and White’s attorney, John Alsop, had differing understandings of the plea agreement but agreed to allow presiding Judge Joseph Jabar to determine the sentence based on their recommendations.

Because White was more than 10 years older than the girl, he was convicted of a Class C felony, which in the case of sexual abuse of a juvenile usually carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

Andrews recommended a sentence of five years with all but two suspended and six years probation.

Alsop said his client is remorseful and is not interested in pursuing his church career.

Judge Jabar called White’s “conduct truly outrageous.”

He sentenced him to five years with all but two suspended and six years probation. White is required to register as a sex offender, is to have no contact with the girl or her family and no contact with children under the age of 16, except family members.

“There is no way to give the victim back her innocence,” Jabar said.