A 52-year-old Norwich man who walked into police headquarters last year and confessed he had burned down a West Thames Street building owned by his father in 1990 received a suspended prison sentence followed by three years of probation Wednesday.

Victor D. Walka Jr. pleaded guilty to third-degree arson during an appearance Wednesday in New London Superior Court and was sentenced by Judge Hillary B. Strackbein to five years in prison, fully suspended, followed by three years of probation. He also paid a $10,000 fine and made a $20,000 contribution to a victim’s compensation fund.

According to Norwich police, Walka walked into the police department in the summer of 2013 and admitted he had set a fire that leveled a home at 563 W. Thames St. in 1990. He said he set the fire to help his father, a local businessman who owned the home and was in financial trouble.

Walka said the incident had bothered him for years and that he wanted to reimburse the insurance company for money paid out to his father.

State’s Attorney Michael L. Regan said he recommended the suspended sentence.

“The defendant voluntarily came in and confessed on two separate occasions, and without his testimony, there would be no case,” Regan said.

He said also that he took into consideration Walka’s mental health issues and the inherent difficulty of proving a 24-year-old case. Walka, who was represented by attorney Paul F. Chinigo, also was accompanied in court Wednesday by a court-appointed conservator. Regan said a firefighter who suffered a minor neck burn during the incident was contacted in New Mexico, where he now works as a lawyer, and said he did not object to the proposed sentence.

Regan said The Hartford Insurance Co., which had insured the building up to $100,000, did not seek restitution.

The fire occurred on May 31, 1990, and members of the East Great Plain and Mohegan fire departments were called to the 1½ story building on the same property as Victor Walka Sr.’s business, Auto Showcase Inc. The building that burned was being used for storage.

Most of the building was in flames when firefighters arrived. The building was later demolished.

Walker told police he doused the building with gasoline, drove home to pick up his wife and immediately left for a pre-arranged business trip to Pennsylvania. He went on to tell police that his father, a controlling man, had off-handedly said, “Somebody should burn down the house,” and he took it literally, according to police.