KALAMAZOO, MI – A Kalamazoo Township man who subjected a boy with autism to sexual abuse and torture that included locking him in a dog cage and pulling out eyebrow hairs will spend at least 25 years in prison.

A jury found David John Bassett, 52, guilty of one count each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and torture, and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct following a two-day trial last week in front of Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Alexander C. Lipsey.

The jury deliberated for about an hour before reaching its verdict Thursday, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Carrie Klein said.

The charges against Bassett stemmed from incidents that occurred between 2006 and 2008 and involved a boy with autism who was between the ages of 6 and 9 during those years, Klein said.

Klein said Bassett will receive a minimum of 25 years in prison for first-degree criminal sexual conduct when he is sentenced April 29 in front of Lipsey.

Bassett was accused of sexually abusing the boy and authorities also say he was tortured, according to Klein.

She said the torture consisted of, among other things, being kept in a dog cage, having his eyebrow hairs pulled out and his penis squeezed until it would bleed.

“The evidence showed it was very sadistic treatment toward the child,” Klein said.

Klein said the boy testified last week at Bassett’s trial.

Klein said Monday that one of the second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges that Bassett was found guilty of stemmed from a 2006 incident in Texas Township.

That incident, Klein said, was originally investigated by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office but no charges were brought in the case at that time.

Klein said she did not know if any of the other charges stemmed from incidents that were brought to the attention of police prior to the Kalamazoo Township police investigation that eventually led to Bassett’s conviction last week.

Bassett has a criminal record that includes a 2007 conviction in Kalamazoo County for distribution of child sexually abusive material. In that case, Bassett pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and five years of probation.

Contact Rex Hall Jr. at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.