A Colombian judge has sentenced 11 commanders of the ELN rebel group to prison for recruiting 60 children into their ranks between 2004 and 2018.

The commanders of the National Liberation Army, Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group, received sentences ranging from 11 to 20 years. The trial was held in absentia because none of the commanders has been captured.

Prosecutors said the group recruited boys and girls aged 8 to 17, and that some of the girls were sexually abused. Four top leaders, including Pablo Beltran, received 20 years and four months.

Beltran now lives in Cuba and recently led an ELN delegation in peace talks with Colombia’s government. The government cancelled those talks last year after ELN attacks in the Catatumbo region killed at least 80 people.

Human rights groups say child recruitment by rebel groups and gangs remains a problem in Colombia, with recruiters now using social media to lure young people.

Why it matters: the verdict is the strongest judicial action yet against the ELN leadership, even as violence resurfaces in rural areas where the group fights over drug routes and illegal mines.