LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former flower shop owner who sexually assaulted and tortured a Texas man in the basement of his Wayne store has been granted parole.

The Nebraska Board of Parole granted 69-year-old Roger Van parole on Friday.

Van has been in prison since 2003 after being convicted of sexual assault, false imprisonment and other counts. He was sentenced to up to 30 years for sexually assaulting, torturing and holding a Texas man captive in the basement of his Wayne flower shop in 2001.

Board member Teresa Bittinger told Van she voted to release him mainly because she wanted officials to be able to monitor him. If he had reached his mandatory release date in 2018, he would be subject to no oversight.