A 20-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier is facing up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to a series of break-ins and the sexual assault of a coed at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus dormitories last year.

Mark Andrew Heath, the married father of two children, admitted breaking into dorm rooms last August and November. He also pleaded guilty to third-degree sex assault of an 18-year-old female student in the August incident.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Thalia Murphy said her office will seek the maximum possible penalty for Heath -- two consecutive 20-year prison terms for separate counts of first-degree burglary.

The crimes created a climate of fear on the UH campus, Murphy said.

"These girls should have had a right to feel safe in their dorm rooms," she said.