A 16-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a 12-year-old Autumn Pasquale in October 2012, the Miami Herald reports.
Justin Robison, 16, was sentenced to 17 years in state prison for strangling Pasquale after he lured her into his home with "an offer to trade bicycle parts."
"I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen," he told Judge Walter Marshall. "This was all a big mistake."
Robison listened to the harsh words of Anthony Pasquale, Autumn's father, in court.
"I believe the defendant deserves more than 17 years," girl's father said. "I believe his fate should be nothing but death."
The 16-year-old admitted he acted along when he killed Autumn, after receiving a Facebook message from the girl to trade bike parts. When the girl didn't return home, her family and the community went to look for her, according to the Herald.
Two days later, their search efforts turned up Autumn's body in the recycling bin behind Robinson's home.
Robinson's mother, Anita Saunders, spoke during her son's hearing.
"Nobody knows what happened the day of the accident," Saunders told the court, as the audience booed audibly, according to the South Jersey Times. "The accident has been mischaracterized."
The teen's defense lawyer told the judge his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from being "physically abused as a young boy and seeing his father strangle his mother more than once," the Herald reports.
"Although 17 years is not the longest sentence, it's a sentence that brings closure," Jaime Kaigh, an attorney for the Pasquale family told the South Jersey Times.
Robinson's brother, Donte Robinson, 17, was accused of aiding him in Autumn's murder. Officials have yet to confirm when the murder charges against him will be dropped.
Robinson will not be eligible for parole until he serves 14 and a half years of his sentence.
