BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Joseph Giuliano, a former high-ranking Border Patrol official, will serve up to four years in prison for third-degree child rape, a judge ruled.

Giuliano pleaded guilty to the charge in April and was sentenced Thursday in Whatcom County Superior Court.

Police say Giuliano, 55, admits he had sex at least 24 times with a high school girl who was a friend of the family, starting when she was 14 years old.

The girl, now 16, was in the courtroom during the sentencing. She said the relationship was consensual and asked the judge to be lenient. But Judge Chuck Snyder rejected the defense request for a one-year sentence.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Mac Setter alleged in court last year that Giuliano had sex with the girl for the last time on Oct. 13, after telling police that he was not involved with the girl and nothing was happening.

The victim told detectives she had been involved with Giuliano. She said they arranged meeting times by communicating through text messages. The two met in his car, in her bed and at his house, she said.

When questioned by detectives, Giuliano said their relationship began in April 2008 and continued until October 2008, according to court documents

At times, he told the girl it was wrong and feared he would get caught, court documents said.

The victim is not related to Giuliano, who is married. Setter says Giuliano's wife was not aware of the alleged abuse.

Giuliano had been a Border Patrol agent for more than 20 years and was the No. 2 official in the Northwest at the time of his arrest, overseeing operations in Western Washington, Oregon and Alaska.