A former Alabama paramedic was sentenced to 21 years in state prison for raping a woman who uses a wheelchair.

Steven Hallford routinely responded to calls from the woman’s home in Dothan and told other EMS personnel not to respond to the home because he lived near her, WSFA reported.

Hallford was found guilty in December on six counts of rape and sodomy.

On Wednesday, Houston County Circuit Court Judge M. John Steensland III sentenced him to 21 years in prison.

Prosecutors asked Steensland to sentence Hallford to life in prison, saying the former paramedic used his job to prey on the vulnerable victim.

The former paramedics brother-in-law pleaded for leniency, claiming Hallford suffered emotional issued after a deadly tornado struck Enterprise in 2007, WSFA reported.