NORWICH – A 21-year-old Oxford man pleaded guilty Monday to raping a toddler and was sentenced to six years in state prison, 10 years of probation and may be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested Justin R. Zimmerman for seven felony sex crimes on Feb. 20 after he was accused of raping and molesting a three-year-old girl between Feb. 9 and 11 in the Village of Oxford.

The Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident with Child Protective Services and also charged the victim’s mother in relation to the crime.

She was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and making a false written statements to police after allegedly attempting to cover up the incidents.

In an October hearing, Chenango County Judge W. Howard Sullivan refused Public Defender’s Alan Gordon request to have a written confession thrown out. Zimmerman allegedly made the confession to detectives during a 45-minute interview the day he was arrested.

Sheriff’s Detective John Fern testified that during his conversation with Zimmerman, the defendant admitted to engaging the child in sexual acts after inviting the three-year-old to watch pornography on his bedroom computer.