YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court clarified in a Monday hearing that the sentence she gave convicted child rapist Jeffrey Palmer two weeks ago makes him eligible for parole in 40 years.

Palmer, 34, of Cleveland, was convicted at trial of 12 rapes and one count of gross sexual imposition for offenses against a Boardman girl, 10, from summer 2015 to summer 2016. He could have received a sentence of about 120 years to life.

The judge grouped Palmer’s rape convictions into four groups of four, and sentenced him on Sept. 9 to 20 years to life on each group — to be served one after another, which some observers said sounded like 80 years to life. An attempt to clarify that with the judge’s staff and the attorneys was unsuccessful.

During Monday’s hearing, assistant Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin said the judge correctly sentenced Palmer to life prison on each of the 12 rape counts, but she should have sentenced Palmer to a minimum of 10 years on each one, not 20.

“I believe we are back on the record for the court just to advise the defendant of that so that everyone is on the same understanding,” McLaughlin said.

In addressing Palmer, the judge asked him if he understood “what is going on here.” Palmer said he did not.

“It’s a life sentence, but after serving 10 years of that life sentence, you are eligible for parole on that count and the consecutive ones 10 years after that, so after 40 years, you will be eligible for parole. Everything else remains in effect. I just didn’t word it correctly,” the judge said.

Palmer’s attorney, Thomas Zena, has asked Judge Sweeney for a new trial and filed a notice Monday with the Seventh District Court of Appeals appealing Palmer’s trial verdict and sentence.

Palmer was baby sitter for the victim and her two siblings while their mother was at work for several hours per day, the mother testified during the trial. The girl told her mother about the rapes nearly two years after they ended.