A man was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for taking pictures and video of himself sodomizing a three-year-old girl:

An Odenville man will spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole for the rape of a 3-year-old girl.

Robert Earl Armbrust, 44, was given the sentence Wednesday by St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Seay during a hearing at the courthouse in Ashville. Armbrust earlier this month pleaded guilty to first-degree rape and two counts of sodomy shortly before a jury was selected for his trial.

The crimes happened on several occasions between June and September in 2016. Authorities said Armbrust and his live-in girlfriend, 39-year-old Lena Catherine Edwards, were babysitting the child of a friend who was ill.

While in their care, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Lyle Harmon, Armbrust raped, sodomized and sexually abused the little girl. Edwards reportedly photographed and took video of the sex crimes while they were happening.

Edwards is awaiting trial on charges of sodomy in the first degree, sex abuse of a child less than 12, production of obscene matter of a child less than 17 and possession of obscene matter with intent to disseminate. Harmon called the crimes “horrific.”

Court records show Armbrust has previously served time in state prison for methamphetamine convictions.

“It should not hurt to be a child. Fortunately, with (the) sentence of life without the possibility of parole, Armbrust will never be able to terrorize a child again,” said St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor. “As parents we tell our kids monsters do not exist, but they do. This monster will spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.” (source)