A former Aloha foster parent, previously convicted of sexually abusing a child in his home, admitted Tuesday to abusing three more girls.

James Coonrod, 64, was serving a five-year term at the

, when

detectives confronted him about

.

He pleaded guilty Tuesday in

to one count of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sex abuse.

The victims in this case included a relative he raped and sodomized repeatedly starting when she was 4 until she was 16, according to Deputy District Attorney Dustin Staten. The two other victims were foster children, who were both 5 years old when Coonrod had sexual contact with them in the 1990s.

Between 1994 and 2009, Coonrod and his wife operated a foster home on

near Beaverton. During those years, nearly 50 children stayed at the home, authorities said. The abuse occurred between 1994 and 2007, according to the sheriff's office.

In 2009, the certification for the Coonrods'

following complaints, according to the

. Authorities said the closure of the home was unrelated to the first sex-abuse accusations, which were reported a year later. Citing privacy laws, authorities did not disclose information about the complaints that led to the home's closure.

Coonrod was first arrested on sex abuse charges in October 2010, according to the sheriff's office. In his prior case, Coonrod admitted to sexually abusing one girl. He pleaded guilty in 2011 to two counts of attempted first-degree sex abuse.

When detectives spoke with Coonrod in prison about the latest victims to come forward, he admitted some of the abuse but denied abusing his own relative, Staten said in court Tuesday. After Coonrod failed a polygraph test regarding that victim, he admitted to having sex with the girl.

In Coonrod's prison interview, Staten said, Coonrod referred to one of the 5-year-old victims as "a tease." Staten said Coonrod told investigators he prefers girls between the ages of 6 and 8.

Years have passed since the abuse, but Staten said the victims are still dealing with its "lifelong impact."

In his plea deal, Coonrod agreed to serve 20 years in addition to the sentence he was already serving. The lengthy sentence still would not make up for the harm Coonrod did, Staten said.

"Twenty years is not sufficient as punishment," Staten said. "But it is showing the defendant mercy he never showed them."

At 64, with more than 20 years left to serve on

, Coonrod will not be eligible for early release.

"One would assume this would amount to a death sentence," Staten told the judge.

None of the victims attended the hearing Tuesday. Coonrod sounded nonchalant as he answered Judge Suzanne Upton's yes-or-no questions about his plea agreement and made a brief statement.

"Well, your honor, it's been several years since these occurrences have taken place," Coonrod said. "I'm definitely not the type of person I was. I do humbly and truly apologize to all the victims."

– Emily E. Smith