AUGUSTA — A former Maine fire captain is going to prison for 18 months for sexual abuse of a minor.

Forty-year-old Robert MacMaster was sentenced Friday in Kennebec County Superior Court. He was convicted July 1 of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl at his home in 2007 and 2008.

MacMaster was on the Augusta Fire Department for 17 years, rising to the rank of captain.

The Kennebec Journal says MacMaster’s attorney told the judge that MacMaster and the victim were in love and their relationship lasted until she was over 18.

The victim’s mother accused MacMaster of breaking her trust, telling the judge that she trusted him with her daughter and he let her down.