A rural Tennessee sheriff who admitted to having sex with inmates under his watch was sentenced Wednesday to 2 years and 9 months in prison.

Former Fentress County Sheriff Charles S. "Chucky" Cravens had already pleaded guilty in the case. On Wednesday, he stood before U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger in Nashville and asked for her mercy.

"I do take responsibility for my actions," he told the judge, hands folded behind his Wranglers.

"What I done, I done it myself."

More:Tennessee sheriff admits sex with inmates, pleads guilty

Trauger sentenced him to the federal prison term for three counts of honest services wire fraud and a count of deprivation of rights. The prison time will be followed by 2 years of supervised release.

Court papers say Cravens, 47, used his authority to solicit sex from women in the 150-person jail he supervised. Documents say Cravens, who later resigned his job as sheriff, slept with three women inmates and gave them special treatment in exchange.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katy Risinger portrayed Cravens as the most powerful man in the county, saying he coerced the women into having sex with him and took advantage of his position of authority.

"The women here could not consent, not in any meaningful way," she said. "They are reliant on defendant for their safety, their food, their clothing. ... Their well-being."

The ex-lawman allowed the women to go outside the jail to smoke cigarettes he provided, put money into their inmate accounts and bought them food in exchange for sex, court documents say.

Trauger said those acts could not be characterized as "anything but horrendous."

At least two of the women are suing Cravens and the county in a civil case filed earlier this week, seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

The final count stems from an incident in November, when court papers say Cravens kicked an inmate, handcuffed him and then punched the inmate twice in the back of the head.

Cravens must turn himself in to federal authorities to serve the prison term on Oct. 23, according to the judge's order.

Cravens was the top law enforcement officer in the rural Tennessee county, which sits north of Crossville and has a population of about 18,000. In April, he announced his resignation amid an FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe.

Just nine days after the FBI knocked on his door, Cravens pleaded guilty to the charges against him, Cravens' lawyer, Alex Little, said Wednesday. Little said that showed Cravens took responsibility for his actions.

"The person standing before you is not an evil person," Little told the judge. "He made a mistake."

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or sbarchenger@tennessean.com or on Twitter @sbarchenger.