A former Lawrence priest who plead guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child is going to prison for 32 months.

That sentence was handed down Friday for Dennis Schmitz by Douglas County District Judge Mike Malone.

When Schmitz is released he will have a 24-month post-release supervisory period.

Schmitz’s attorneys had filed a motion for probation, but Malone denied it.

The judge took an hour of recess before returning to announce the sentence, saying it was a “difficult” decision to make.

Schmitz pleaded guilty in September to taking indecent liberties with a child in the fall of 1998.