LYNNWOOD, Wash. (AP) — A 20-year-old Washington state man was sentenced Thursday to less than three years in prison for raping a high school student as she died from a drug overdose.

Superior Court Judge Linda Krese said Thursday she could not sentence Brian Varela to more than 2 years and 10 months because it was the most prison time permitted for someone with no prior criminal record.

Varela had pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, third-degree rape, and unlawful disposal of remains as part of a plea deal in the February death of 18-year-old Alyssa Noceda.

Judge Krese said she was “surprised, even outraged,” by the inadequacy of the sentence and suggested that state lawmakers may not have realized the impact of their decision when they set prison sentences for the charges.

Varela told detectives that Noceda came to a party on Feb. 3 near Lynnwood. In Varela’s room, he said Noceda snorted Percocet and used liquid marijuana. Tests later showed she had taken a fatal mix of fentanyl and a generic brand of Xanax.

She collapsed within a minute of mixing the two, Varela told detectives. Authorities said Varela never sought help for Noceda and instead sent semi-nude photos of her to friends.

Varela went to work at Dairy Queen the next and his co-worker contacted police in the following days after Varela said he didn’t know if Noceda was still alive when he was having sex with her.

Police arrested Varela later that day after executing a search warrant and finding Noceda’s body in a plastic crate at the suspect’s home. Varela told investigators he planned to bury Noceda with onions to minimize the odor. He also told detectives that after Noceda died, he used her thumb to unlock her phone and send messages to make it appear she had run away.

In court Thursday, Varela said, “I’m sorry for my foolish actions. Whatever I get is what I deserve.”