GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Former Christian radio host John Balyo asked a judge for some hope of rejoining society at his sentencing for a sexual attack on a young boy.

He has that possibility - after at least 40 years in prison.

Balyo, the former morning host at WCSG, said he did not recognize the “depravity” of his actions until he was caught.

“Your honor, I’m standing humbly before you today really pleading for the opportunity, the chance, to have a life someday,” Balyo told U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell.

“I will not be a danger to society. I will not be in trouble again.”

Bell said it is difficult to reconcile Balyo’s public profile – his reputation as a strong Christian man who helped at community events, took church mission trips and volunteered for Kent County Sheriff’s Department – and his deviant side, which put him in hotels in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo where he sexually assaulted a bound child. He collected child pornography, kept a “bondage kit” in a storage locker and had a boy-sized, anatomically correct mannequin he kept chained in a dog crate.

Bell told Balyo: “I’m trying to figure out which one I’m sitting in front of right now.” He urged Balyo to “peel back the layers of your own heart and your own soul” while in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa Hessmiller, said Balyo, while living a “double existence,” took steps to avoid getting caught. She provided photos to the judge that investigators found of Balyo sexually assaulting the young victim.

“Mr. Balyo is basically a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which makes him incredibly dangerous because people don’t see him coming,” Hessmiller told the judge.

“Of course, his family was as surprised as anyone to learn of the double life.”

The assaults at the hotels occurred just before and after his April 25 marriage. His arrest came eight months after he met another pedophile, Ronald Moser, of Battle Creek, online. Moser posted on a website: “Looking for people in or around michigan that r in to kids (sic). Balyo wrote back, “Yeah! Saw your album and request for anyone from Michigan into kids :) I am that person! Lol,” records showed.

Moser, who will be sentenced next week, was a trusted friend of the victim's family.

The boy has suffered greatly, said a family representative who read a statement. The victim is frightened if his mother leaves the house. He has to know where she is at all times. She has trouble going to work because she has to be there for him.

The mother said Balyo took her son’s “trust and innocence,” and he “should not have to live in fear” of Balyo leaving prison.

“There are no words that excuse hurting a child like that, none,” the family said.

The family believed that Balyo would have progressed to killing a child if he had not been stopped.

Kenneth Dukes, resident agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, said investigators went to great lengths looking for potential victims in the area, as well as places Balyo visited on mission trips. They have not found other victims but that doesn’t mean they are not out there, he said after the sentencing hearing.

Hessmiller, the prosecutor, said Balyo had taken photos of himself pointing a gun at the mannequin, masturbating, then rolling the mannequin up in a carpet or tarp as if he had just killed someone.

After the hearing, U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles Jr. said it was uncertain if Balyo’s crimes would have progressed had he avoided prosecution.

“We just don’t know. It’s speculative whether or not he was just fantasizing or role-playing. Clearly, based on the images, he had some disturbing thoughts,” Miles said.

While prosecutors say Balyo was slow to come clean about his crimes, defense attorney David Dodge insisted his client helped investigators and accepted responsibility early on. He said his client pleaded guilty to state and federal charges, knowing they carried severe penalties, because he did not want to re-victimize the boy and his family.

Balyo was earlier ordered to 25 to 50 years in state prison for first-degree criminal sexual conduct. The federal sentence runs at the same time and the state prison time.

Balyo wanted to “alleviate the suffering,” Dodge said. If the case had gone to trial, it would “have the potential of being basically a spectacle.”

He said Balyo, his family and friends, and thousands of supportive listeners have had to face “very harsh realities.”

Dodge said Balyo’s addiction to child pornography isn’t easy to talk to anyone about. Balyo wants to get help and help others find treatment, too.

Dodge insisted that Balyo is receptive to treatment and the “prospects for his rehabilitation are excellent.”

Judge Bell said Balyo’s life is difficult to grasp. He has a college degree, had a good job and good reputation in the community. He would offer advice to callers at radio station. Then, there is the other side.

“This was a repulsive act of adult sexual gratification on a very young boy,” the judge said. “They had no choice. They really had no choice. Do you understand that?”

Yes, Baylo said.

John Agar covers crime for MLive/Grand Rapids Press E-mail John Agar: jagar@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterJAgar