DES MOINES, Iowa —

A Des Moines man was sentenced Thursday to up to 55 years in prison after entering an Alford plea to multiple counts of sexual abuse and incest involving a minor.

Tyler Hardwick, 33, entered an Alford plea to 10 counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of incest, meaning he maintains his innocence but concedes that there is enough evidence to convict. Polk County District Judge Joseph Seidlin ordered one sexual-abuse count to run consecutive to the others, which run concurrently, and the incest count to run consecutive, for a total term of 55 years. Hardwick must remain on the sex offender registry for life.

Each second-degree sexual abuse count carries a 25-year sentence with a 17-and-a-half-year mandatory minimum; the incest charge carries a five-year term

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