TAIYUAN - A high school student in north China's Shanxi province was sentenced to life in prison for killing a 9-year-old girl, the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Xinzhou said on Saturday.

The trial was not open to the public as the defendant is a juvenile and thus protected by privacy shield.

According to a court statement, the defendant, surnamed Lyu, kidnapped the victim in December 2012, molesting and beating her to death. The defendant turned himself in to Xinzhou police 10 days later.

The court said the crimes committed were so hideous that no mitigation was offered.