DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — A 75-year-old Alabama man pleaded guilty Monday in Piscataquis County Superior Court to 10 sex charges, according to District Attorney R. Christopher Almy.
By pleading guilty, Clifford Pendleton of Daleville, Alabama, admitted that he sexually abused a girl he was babysitting in Maine between September 1, 2007, and July 21, 2009. The girl is now 13.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of gross sexual assault and five counts of unlawful sexual touching.
Pendleton’s plea agreement calls for the prosecutor to recommend a sentence of 12 years followed by supervised release, which has stricter conditions than probation. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20.
The girl reported the abuse to her mother, who called the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s office, according to the prosecutor. Almy said his office received information on the case in February 2014.
Pendleton has been held at the Piscataquis County Jail since April 15, 2014, unable to post $35,000 cash bail.
At the time the abuse that took place in Atkinson, Pendleton was dating the child’s grandmother, according to Almy.
Pendleton faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the most serious count of gross sexual assault.