SYRACUSE -- A serial burglar accused of accosting two 10-year-old girls in an elementary school bathroom in upstate New York could draw up to seven years in prison.

Syracuse police say 39-year-old Phillip Lane tried unsuccessfully a grab a 12-year-old girl walking to a middle school on June 23, then went to nearby Delaware Elementary and entered a girls' bathroom armed with a knife. In the bathroom, Lane approached two girls, aged nine and ten.

Investigators say Lane spoke to two girls before being removed by three male teachers. After bolting outside, he was captured by the city's police chief, Frank Fowler, who had heard about the chase on his police car radio.

Lane's defense attorney, Charles Keller, said, “Whatever you want to say about Mr. Lane, he did step up and took responsibility and accepted the max punishment the law would allow. That is almost unheard of.”

The prosecution lawyer, Geoff Ciereck, said, “Given the fact that the highest offence was a burglary, third degree maximum sentence 3 ½ to 7 years, for a person with prior conviction the judge sentenced him to the maximum and we are satisfied with that.”

According to both Keller and Ciereck, Lane has no prior sexual offenses.

The prosecution said that both the girls, and the school did the right thing by reporting Lane. The prosecution also noted that the police were swift to act.

Lane pleaded guilty last month to third-degree burglary, a felony, in exchange for a maximum sentence of 3 1/2 years to seven years in prison.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.