( CNN ) -- The son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor Sr. was sentenced Friday to 97 years in prison for charges including torture and conspiracy , according to a federal court in Florida . The U.S.-born son of Charles Taylor Sr. , pictured , moved to Liberia when his father became president . U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced Charles `` Chuckie '' Taylor Jr. , 31 , in a Friday morning session that lasted four hours , according to a court document . Altonaga cited Taylor 's `` sadistic , cruel and atrocious past , '' saying it `` constituted unacceptable , universally condemned torture , '' The Miami Herald reported . `` The lengthy prison term handed down today justly reflects the horror and torture that Taylor Jr. visited upon his victims , '' said Matthew Friedrich , acting assistant attorney general of the criminal division . Taylor , also known as Charles McArthur Emmanuel , was convicted October 30 of torture , conspiracy to commit torture and firearm charges . His case , tried in Miami , was the first brought under a 1994 U.S. law saying those accused of committing torturous acts overseas can be tried in a U.S. federal court , as long as the person is a U.S. national or is present in the United States , regardless of nationality . Calls to Taylor 's defense attorneys were not immediately returned . Prosecutors had asked for Taylor to be sentenced to 147 years . Taylor was born in Boston , Massachusetts , but he moved to Liberia when his father was named president . Prosecutors said Taylor became the leader of the Anti-Terrorist Unit and the Liberian National Police while his father was president . The two groups are accused of abducting , torturing and killing people . From 1999 to 2002 , Taylor committed torture and allowed others to commit torture , prosecutors said . Taylor and his associated burned victims with molten plastic , lighted cigarettes , candle wax and an iron . Some were severely beaten with firearms , cut and stabbed and shocked with an electric device , prosecutors said in an indictment that superseded the initial indictment from 2006 . In the initial indictment , Taylor was charged with one count of torture , one count of conspiracy to torture and one count of using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime . The superseding September 2007 indictment -- which incorporated the initial charges -- included five counts of torture , one count of conspiracy to torture , one count of using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and one count of conspiracy to use a firearm during the commission of a violent crime . The defense had said the U.S. government had little or no evidence to back up its claims . Also Friday , the World Organization for Human Rights USA filed a civil class action suit against Taylor on behalf of a group of people who are said to have been subjected to torture and other human rights abuses by Taylor or his subordinates , according to the organization . The suit seeks declaratory relief and general , compensatory and punitive damages , the organization said in a written statement . `` This civil suit aims to address Defendant Taylor 's wrongs on a much greater scale '' than the criminal trial , the organization said . Taylor 's father , Charles Taylor Sr. , is standing trial in The Hague , Netherlands , on war crimes charges . CNN 's John Couwels contributed to this report .
NEW : Sentence reflects `` horror and torture '' visited upon victims , state official says . Comment: Charles `` Chuckie '' Taylor Jr. sentenced for charges including torture and conspiracy . Son of ex-Liberian president convicted October 30 .