A Florida man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl from Collingwood last year.

Police say Liam Heim, 23, met the girl on an online forum and groomed her for months, leading her to believe they were in a romantic relationship.

They say in March of 2018, Heim traveled to New Jersey and picked the girl up from her school in Collingwood.

Police say Heim then brought her to a hotel in Philadelphia, where he sexually assaulted her for 36 hours.

Officers eventually located Heim and the girl by tracking her phone.

Heim pleaded guilty to a list of charges. Once he is released, he will be under supervised release for the rest of his life.