A former college professor was sentenced to five years in prison for child sex crimes.

Richard Rushton, 63, previously entered Alford pleas – which are similar to no contest pleas – to two counts of sexual battery against children.

Rushton is a former chairman of the Education Department at Bethany College.

Authorities said he fled the country and lived in Italy after he was indicted by a grand jury in 2010. He was brought back to the United States with the help of the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Belmont County Prosecutor said, “The investigation in this case did not begin in Belmont County and there were some errors conducted in that investigation that made it very difficult to get certain evidence in. However, it did not shake our belief that this man had harmed these two victims.”