MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A man was sentenced to 195 years in prison Thursday for sexually assaulting female mall workers and young children over several years.

James D. Perry, 34, received the sentence after pleading guilty to 25 out of the 51 counts authorities filed against him. The remaining charges were dismissed, but many were included in his record.

Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Nicks called Perry’s crimes “horrific.”

“He is the man that causes us all to depend on prayer for safety because we cannot identify the predator in our midst,” she said.

Perry had pleaded not guilty in July to 41 counts, waiving his right to a preliminary hearing. Since then, prosecutors filed additional charges.

Authorities had hunted for years for an assailant who targeted female mall workers in south-central Wisconsin, accosting them in their stores as they worked alone or in mall parking lots.

Investigators connected Perry to the cases after he allegedly tried to abduct a girl at gunpoint from a hotel in February and his image was captured on the hotel’s security camera.

The charges against Perry also included multiple counts of sexual assault of a child and physical abuse of a child. Five victims were under age 13, authorities said.

Perry currently is serving a 180-year sentence in a federal penitentiary for sexually exploiting children. Those charges stemmed from videotapes depicting Perry and a second man assaulting two young girls.

Perry also faces sexual assault charges in Illinois.

AP-ES-11-11-04 1343EST