BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) – A man who used the Web site MySpace.com to set up a sexual encounter with an 11-year-old girl was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in prison in one of the first federal sex cases involving the popular networking site.

Sonny Szeto, now 23, pleaded guilty last year to using the Internet to persuade a minor to have sex and possessing child pornography.

In sentencing Szeto, U.S. District Judge Janet Hall said she was disturbed by his actions and worried that he would commit similar crimes.

Szeto traveled from Jersey City, N.J., to Connecticut in October 2005 and molested the girl in her playroom while her parents slept upstairs.

“My daughter remains traumatized by the crime,” the girl’s father said with a shaky voice in court Tuesday. “Knowing he is in jail will help her recover.”

The father also said Szeto went so far as to call his daughter at her school, pretending to be her brother and claiming there was a family emergency.

“It made her feel no place was safe,” he said.

He also criticized Szeto for not taking responsibility for his actions and blaming others.

Szeto, formerly of Nashua, N.H., and Queens, N.Y., did not speak at the hearing. His lawyer, Roger Lee Stavis, urged the judge to impose the mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence.

Stavis said Szeto grew up in an abusive home and was exposed to alcoholism and suicide attempts.

“It took its toll on Mr. Szeto,” he said.

Stavis also cited a psychologist’s report that said Szeto suffered from depression and a personality disorder. He said Szeto was remorseful for what happened.

In arguing for a lower prison sentence, Stavis noted that the girl had made some of the calls to Szeto, but insisted he wasn’t blaming the victim.

“This particular young victim is perhaps more precocious (than others),” Stavis said.

Prosecutor James Filan questioned the psychologist’s report, saying it was based only on Szeto’s statements and there was no effort to corroborate his claims.

MySpace, a division of News Corp., allows its 54 million users to find online friends by searching for their school or their interests. The site prohibits minors 13 and under from joining, discourages users from posting personal information and provides special protections for those 14 and 15.

Parents, school administrators and law-enforcement authorities have been increasingly warning of online predators at sites like MySpace.

MySpace has responded by expanding educational efforts and partnerships with law enforcement. It also adopted new restrictions on how adults may contact the site’s younger users and has helped design tools for identifying profiles created by convicted sex offenders.

While Internet safety advocates say the site has a good reputation for working to prevent illegal activity, they say children often lie about their age to get around those restrictions. Many profiles include suggestive photographs and lots of personal information.

MySpace.com has been developing software designed to give parents the bare-bones of what their kids are doing on the site, including whether the listed age is truthful.

Authorities have said MySpace wasn’t at fault but rather is being exploited by pedophiles.