A judge in the U.S. state of Kansas has ordered confessed serial killer Dennis Rader to serve 10 consecutive life terms for the murders of 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991.
Judge Gregory Waller imposed the sentence Thursday after a two-day hearing which included emotional testimony from victims' families and some expression of remorse from Rader himself. He is not eligible for parole for at least 40 years.
Rader had dubbed himself the BTK killer, with BTK standing for "Bind, Torture and Kill." He eluded capture for years until his arrest in February. In June, Rader pleaded guilty to the 10 murders.
The 60-year-old former church congregation president and Boy Scout leader cannot receive the death penalty because he committed his crimes before Kansas reinstated capital punishment in 1994.