A state appellate court panel on Thursday upheld a Long Beach man’s prison sentence of more than 47 years for crimes that included trafficking a teenage girl for a commercial sex act in Lakewood.

The three-justice panel rejected the defense’s contention that there was insufficient evidence that Jeffery Floyd Beadle dissuaded the teen from testifying in his case, along with a claim that he was improperly sentenced.

In an 11-page ruling, the justices found that jurors could reasonably infer that each telephone conversation Beadle had with the teen was “intended to prevent or dissuade” her from appearing in court.

Beadle was convicted of 11 felony counts, including one count each of human trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act, pimping a minor 16 or older, pandering by encouraging a minor over age 16 and unlawful sexual intercourse, along with seven counts of dissuading a witness from testifying.

Beadle began living with the girl after meeting her on social media when she was 16 in 2014 and impregnated her twice, Deputy District Attorney Christmas Brookens said after the verdict.

Beadle—a registered sex offender on parole—also instructed the teen to prostitute herself and was arrested during a sting in Lakewood in October 2015 when an undercover officer exchanged money with him for prostitution services arranged online, the prosecutor said.

Beadle, now 42, was sentenced in May 2018 to 47 years and four months in state prison.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the Long Beach Police Department.