A young girl sexually abused by Jeremy Taylor stood strong before him Monday in a Yamhill County courtroom and said she refuses to live her life as a victim. She will, instead, become an advocate for others.

"Because of my recent journey, I want to speak up and tell young girls to speak out and report," she said. "Even if it's a coach, a relative, a pastor or a teacher."

Taylor, a 33-year-old McMinnville resident, pleaded guilty in circuit court to three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree sodomy and one count of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, all Class A or B felonies. Judge John Collins sentenced him to 16 1/2 years in prison and 20 years of post-prison supervision under Measure 11 terms.

Six counts of first-degree sexual abuse, four counts of first-degree sodomy and one count each of endangering the welfare of a minor and first-degree unlawful sexual penetration were dropped as part of a plea agreement negotiated between Taylor's court-appointed attorney, Mark Lawrence of McMinnville, and former Deputy District Attorney Erin Greenawald, who continued to oversee the case despite leaving the DA's office for a job with the state Department of Justice.

Because of the time she had invested in the case, and the relationship she had forged with the victim and her family, she wanted to see it through, she said. Handing it off would not have been fair to the victim or her family, she said.

Greenawald said there are other cases she began prosecuting before she officially left the DA's office, and she plans to continue handling those cases.

The girl, now 13, revealed to her mother and father last November that Taylor had forced her into a sexual relationship at the age of 11, Greenawald said.

The prosecutor said Taylor engaged in multiple sex acts with her. She said the events were horrifying. They continued for more than year.

She said Taylor set out to gain the trust of the victim and her family, then turned it into an opportunity to abuse her. Eventually, she summoned the courage to turn him in.

"She said, 'Enough is enough is enough,'" Greenawald said. "She knew, 'I can't do this anymore.'"

Greenawald described the abuse in court in extremely graphic terms. She said she was doing so because she wanted the girl and her family to realize all the shame for what happened lay with Taylor.

The girl bravely addressed the court.

"I have always been raised to believe that everything happens for a reason," she said, reading a statement she composed. "Whenever things have gone wrong, or bad things have happened, I have never given up. And I will not give up now."

She said her life has changed, but for the better, not the worse. She said she will never let anyone take control of her again.

"You may have controlled me for a while," she told Taylor. "But that, Jeremy, was you controlling me with guilt and fear."

When she finally decided to confide in her parents, she knew they would take swift action.

They did so by notifying McMinnville police, and an investigation was launched.

The girl referenced an article from The Sunday Oregonian, indicating that one girl out of every five is subjected to unwanted sexual touching or some other form of sexual abuse, but 90 percent never tell anyone. She said that needs to stop.

The girl's mother expressed thanks to all the advocates who had helped the family heal, including Greenawald, Crime Victim Services advocate Cecilia Martinez, McMinnville Police Department detective Sam Elliott and Juliette's House Medical Director Dr. Margaret "Peg" Miller. She expressed appreciation to friends and family members for their prayers and support. They packed the better part of one side of the courtroom.

She said she was proud to have a daughter who displayed such poise, strength and determination, and said members of the local support system deserved credit by listening to her, advocating for her and thereby empowering her.

"You made a choice to molest my daughter, to physically abuse my child," she said. "You did things to my daughter that only she, as an adult, should have been able to choose for herself with someone she loves."

She called him a monster and a coward - one destined to meet many more of the same in prison.

"The day you chose to hurt my daughter is the day you chose your fate," she said.

The girl's brothers and father also spoke.

"You hurt my family and sister, and you broke my heart," her younger brother told Taylor. "You caused a lot of pain for my sister, my mom, me and my family.

"You caused sadness, frustration and anger for what you chose to do to my sister. I feel mad and angry for what you did to my beautiful sister and family."

He told Taylor he knows what he did was wrong.

The girl's older brother asked Taylor where he got his false sense of power.

Her father told Taylor that no sentence would be long enough to compensate for what he had been done. But he said he would at least have the satisfaction of knowing Taylor would be spending the best years of his life behind bars.

Taylor, who admitted to the acts described by Greenawald, stunned the large contingent of courtroom observers by saying that maybe what happened would lead her father to play a bigger part in her daughter's life. Visibly angered, he got up and left the courtroom.

The comment earned Taylor a sharp rebuke from Collins, who said he could not imagine a more negative thing to say to a family he had hurt so badly.