A former pastor will serve 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.

The sex crimes occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1990, years before the former Seventh-day Adventist pastor lived in North Carolina and led churches in Shelby and Lincolnton.

Michael Wayne Hill, 54, was arrested two years ago

According to Florida news stations, the girl, who reported the crime to police in 2002, said Hill was a friend of her parents. She said Hill came to her house in Jacksonville to pick up pet supplies. The girl told police that Hill started talking about sex and then fondled her. She told police he left then came back an hour later and molested her again and raped her.

There is no statute of limitations in child sex crimes in Florida.

Now an adult, Hill's accuser called him in 2015, arrest reports said. A pastor in Kansas at the time, Hill said he wanted to talk in person, and the girl set up a meeting on Jan. 8, 2015, at a Panera Bread in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Deputies recorded the conversation in which Hill apologized for what he did.

Hill was arrested and spent two years in prison awaiting trial. Originally charged with sexual battery of a child, Hill accepted a plea arrangement and pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual battery. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison with credit for the time he spent in jail. Once released, Hill will be added to the Sex Offender Registry and be placed on probation for 20 years.

Hill served as pastor of churches in Shelby and Lincolnton for 15 years, according to the Carolina Conference, the division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that covers Gaston, Cleveland and Lincoln counties. He left his most recent position in Shelby in April 2014.

He was the pastor at Chanute Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Chanute, Kansas at the time of his arrest, a position from which he was dismissed when the allegations surfaced.

The Carolina Conference runs background checks on pastors and found no criminal record for Hill, a spokesman said at the time of Hill's arrest.

You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and Twitter.com/GazetteDiane.