A former music pastor in Ohio who appeared briefly on “American Idol” was sentenced Monday after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife while he was having an affair.

Prosecutors said Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a home invasion in February after shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach.

Flynn faced up to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the jury found him guilty last week of murder, felonious ᴀssault and tampering with evidence. And that’s what Miami County Common Pleas Judge Jeannine Pratt gave him. The judge said he posed a serious risk to the public.

Flynn claimed she was killed by a burglar at their house in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton.

He sent a text message to his lover the night before the shooting, saying, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said.

Flynn appeared briefly on “American Idol” in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing compeтιтion. He sang before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj but did not advance to the main compeтιтion in Hollywood.

During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he sH๏τ his wife. The couple’s two daughters were home with their father when police arrived.

During the trial, Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.

Jurors also heard AI-generated love songs that prosecutors said he made for Botner. Flynn didn’t testify on his own behalf, nor did anybody else.

The gun used to kill Ashley Flynn was not found at the scene, and his attorney told jurors that investigators found no evidence that Caleb Flynn fired a gun that day. Prosecutors said his fingerprints and DNA were at the scene and that his devices showed him moving around the house, even though he claimed he was asleep at the time of the shooting.

During the sentencing, Flynn spoke to the court for the first time, apologizing to family and friends and fellow church goers. He said he did not murder his wife and that he was innocent. He cried the entire time he spoke.

“I made vows to Ashley on our wedding day. I failed in those vows,” he said.