DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — A 75-year-old Alabama man was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this month in Piscataquis County Superior Court to 10 sex charges involving a child he was baby-sitting, according to Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy.
Clifford Pendleton of Daleville, Alabama, also was ordered to undergo 12 years of supervised release after completing his prison term, Almy said. He will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
Pendleton admitted on July 6 that he sexually abused a girl he was baby-sitting in Maine between Sept. 1, 2007, and July 21, 2009. At the time the abuse took place in Atkinson, Pendleton was dating one of the child’s relatives, according to Almy. The girl is now 13.
The girl reported the abuse to another relative, who called the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office, according to the prosecutor. Almy said earlier that his office received information on the case in February 2014.
Pendleton pleaded guilty to five counts of gross sexual assault and five counts of unlawful sexual touching, Almy said earlier.
He faced up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the most serious count of gross sexual assault.
Pendleton’s plea agreement called for the prosecutor to recommend a sentence of 12 years followed by supervised release, which has stricter conditions than probation.