Former Minden resident Garry Handlen has been sentenced to life in prison by the B.C. Supreme Court.

Handlen who was living in Minden at the time of his arrest in late 2014 was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1978 killing of 12-year-old girl Monica Jack that verdict issued on Jan. 17 following a nearly three-month trial.

On Jan. 28 Handlen was sentenced to life in prison which in Canada carries a minimum sentence of 25 years without parole. However Handlen 71 will be eligible for parole in 15 years due to the “faint hope clause” a former section of the Canadian Criminal Code. That clause allowed prisoners sentenced to life to apply for early parole after 15 years. While that section of the criminal code was repealed in 2011 those convicted of crimes that took place while it was in effect are still subject to that eligibility.

Handlen who has a history of violent crime and rape convictions going back as far as 1963 was also charged for murder in the killing of another B.C. girl Kathryn-Mary Herbert in the 1970s. However the Crown has said it will not be presenting evidence on that case.