GASTONIA, N.C. -- There was a surprise plea Thursday from a man who admitted leaving his eleven children home alone.

Johnny Marlowe asked a Gaston County judge to throw the book at him.

Marlowe represented himself in court and pleaded no contest. Dallas Police say he lived a polygamist lifestyle.

He had been charged with assaulting his wife, neglecting all eleven of his children, and resisting arrest. Police say his second wife lived in the home as well.

In October, Dallas police initially went to his home after Amber Marlowe accused her husband of abusing her. A few days later, officers returned to the home possibly for a welfare check and found eleven children, ages one to eleven, alone. That is when Marlowe was arrested.

At Thursday’s hearing, Marlowe's wife was the first witness. As soon as she began testifying, Marlowe interrupted, asking the judge to stop her testimony and give him the maximum sentence.

“I'm saying rather than having her testify, I'd rather take the maximum sentence,” Marlowe said.

The judge gave Marlowe the maximum sentence of 150 days in jail and two years of probation. As for the eleven children, they're all in foster homes.

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